A Tale of Sitia
by YelenaZ
Summary: Yelena was never kidnapped by Mogkan and has stayed in Sitia with her family for her whole life. Will she and Valek still manage to somehow meet and fall in love despite this situation? Rated T to be safe.
1. Chapter 1

Yelena is, indeed, a bit...different? in this chapter, which I hope you will forgive this, since she has been living a protected life up until now. :P

* * *

Once upon a time...

* * *

I swung onto the rope bridge, landed, and tossed away the vine. I panted, wishing that I could be like Nutty, who at times, represented the adorable valmurs that travelled through the trees each day. I tossed back my long chestnut curls and leaned against the rope handrest, admiring the beauty of the Daviian Plateau. The vivid, warm and rich colors of the scenery always managed to catch my attention. So different from the Illias Jungle, it seemed to be magical. Not to say that the Jungle wasn't as beautiful, or even more so than the Plateau, of course. I sighed, dejected. I was going to miss this place.

"Yelena!" I jumped slightly as Nutty's hand grabbed my arm before dropping onto the bridge beside me. Nutty grinned at me. "I've been looking for you everywhere! Uncle Esau and Aunt Perl want to see you before you go to the Citadel!"

Right. I should probably see them before I left with Leif. I had been tested for magical ability by Master Jewelrose when I had visited Leif last summer at the Keep, and had been invited to go back this year. In fact, the word 'invited' would be an understatement. I had been _ordered_ by all the Masters to hurry there as fast as I could, giving me a limit of one year. If I didn't gain control of my power, I would soon flame out and disturb the power source. Of course, they wouldn't allow that to happen. If I failed, they would kill me.

I turned and walked along the swinging rope bridge back to my parent's dwellings. Perhaps it was best if I left for a while anyways. I had recently argued with Jer and I didn't feel like seeing him or hearing his apologies again. Ever since I had turned 15, Jer had always been there, asking me to go to feasts with him, tagging along as I did my chores. Even at 19, he was still following me around, telling me he just wanted to 'protect' me. At which, I had finally snapped at him, and for days he had been alternatingly giving me hurt looks and frequent apologies for upsetting me.

"You're here!" Perl yanked me inside and hugged me fiercely.

"Mother, I'll be back soon. How long could it take for me to stabilize?" I gasped for air as Perl's embrace tightened.

Perl pulled away and looked at me with deep concern. "Be careful, I wouldn't want to lose the only daughter I have."

I gave her a look. "Thanks Mother." I really didn't want to think about what would happen if I failed.

She handed me my bag that I had packed the day before. "I'll miss you. Don't forget to say good-bye your father on the way out."

"Will do." With that, I scrambled down the rope ladder and at the bottom, sought out Esau to say bye.

When I turned to go to Leif's room to get him to hurry up so we could go, Esau stopped me.

"Wait. Leif already left without you."

"_What?_ We were supposed to go together!"

He shrugged. "Leif had some important business that he had to take care of and he left late last night while you were sleeping. He didn't want to wake you up."

"He should have! I only know vaguely how to get to the Citadel."

Father shot me a look. "You know the way very confidently, judging by what Leif told me last time."

"Not the shortcuts through the Sandseed's territory!"

He sighed. "Just take the long way around, then. Yelena, you'll have to go on your own sometime."

Instead of saying anything, I leaned in and hugged him fiercely. I was so nervous about leaving the jungle. I had never set off on any journey on my own. While I was trained like all the other Zaltana children on how to survive in the jungle alone, I didn't know what awaited me outside. But the only way I would ever find out was to experience it for myself. I set my mouth in determination and set off, not looking back.

* * *

That night...

As I stared into the fire I had made, I could feel my anxiety grow into paranoia. The flickering shadows caused by the flames made me nervous, letting me imagine what things were hiding in the darkness.

As my mind fixed on the subject of dangerous things, my eyes were strangely drawn again and again to a large bush slightly to the left of me. Instintively, I silently picked up a rather hefty rock that was twice the size of my hand and threw it in the direction of the bush. Hopefully that would scare away anything that might be hiding there.

As soon as I threw it, I felt slightly better, but I held my breath just in case. I was expecting it to happen...alright, not exactly. In any case, the rock that I had thrown hit a solid object with a resounding and satisfying _thud_.

Gasping, I leapt up and ran towards that bush to see what had broken the rock's fall. Startling blue eyes peered up at me. What the hell?

Before I could do anything, the person, or maybe even animal leapt from his...or its hiding place, landing on me and pinning me down on the ground. I was in shock for a split second, before recovering and clicking the button on my switchblade.

This man ( Yes, after being pinned down, I now knew it...he was a man) sprang back up to avoid my blade, and I nearly gasped when I realised how fast he was. Even Leif who was pretty well-trained in combat, was not even half as fast.

Fear exploded inside me and I could even taste it inside my mouth. This man was apparently watching me while I was about to go to sleep! What was he going to do while I slept? How was I ever going to beat him? What-

I flinched as the man made a move towards me as if to harm me. Dodging just in case, I thrust the switchblade in his general direction. Nutty had always skipped class when Leif and her brother, Chestnut, were teaching us combat. Therefore, I had gotten twice as much attention and twice as much advice. I had chosen the switchblade as a weapon, even though Leif had laughed at the idea of a slim, short blade causing any harmto anyone. He regretted his words when I had beat him for the first time at the age of 15. True, I was now a lot better than Leif and probably Chestnut too, but there was only a chance that I would beat this man, considering how fast he moved.

The man somehow managed to catch hold of my wrist, and as I waited for him to retaliate, he turned my wrist around gently to examine my switchblade.

"Well made, but not entirely of the professional quality. Still, it is better made than the average blade." The man's voice indicated that he was no threat to me but I still didn't trust him. What kind of man hides around in bushes spying on people?

"What the hell were you doing, spying on me like that?" I jerked my wrist out of his grasp and glared at him, keeping my blade in front of me in case he tried anything. He didn't seem to be armed, with no knife or sword in his belt, but I wasn't going to risk my life on that assumption. For all I know, he could be some kind of rogue magician that didn't need weapons to defend himself. Or to attack women travelling alone.

The man laughed lightly and held up his arms. "I surrender."

I wasn't going to fall for the oldest trick in the book. "Prove it. Put your weapons on the ground." What if he was a migician though? "If you're a magician,...er...then just leave and don't come near me again! Or else!" I indicated my blade, groaning inside. That had been one of the most horrible threats I had made in my life. I would ask Leif for pointers, if I didn't suspect that his threats were worse than mine.

The man sighed. He seemed actually disappointed. "What if I'm not a magician and I don't have any weapons either?"

"You're lying."

The man smiled bemusedly, and this softened the sharp angles of his face, making him seem more human and less scary. "Why would you say that?"

"No fool would travel this close to the Sandseed's territory without a weapon if they weren't a Sandseed themselves, or a Zaltana."

"Since you have a knife, I take it you do not belong to either of those clans?"

"I'm not going to tell a complete stranger that was spying on me what clan I'm in!"

He sighed and lowered his hands. I held my blade more tightly and brought it closer to him. Somehow I couldn't bring myself to stab him, because I had never killed anybody before, and especially not a person that wasn't fighting back. It seemed...dishonest.

He offered a hand to me. "Truce?"

"Name one good reason why I should trust you." Ha! Let's see if he has a smart answer for that.

"You don't have any choice." Before I could move, he was behind me and a hairsplittingly sharp knife gently touched the skin of my throat.

Horrible images of my brother stumbling onto my dead body on his way home flashed in my mind. " Fine. Truce."

To my relief, he let me go and by the time I turned to face him, he had somehow managed to hide his knife well. He crossed his arms across his chest and observed me for a long time.

"What?" I asked, irritated. I was beyond fear. This man had proved his point, why didn't he just go and leave me alone already?

"You're travelling to the Citadel to become one of the new students. Older than almost all of the first years, too. Care to explain?"

"H-how did you know?" Not only was this man nosy, he was good at it too.

"Your scroll of invitation is sticking out of your bag," he pointed out. I flushed for asking such a dumb question.

"Alright! Now you know! Why don't you just get going on your way and I'll go to the Citadel! Deal?" Without waiting for an answer, I stomped off along the well-worn track again. I obviously wasn't going to sleep anywhere close to this place unless I actually wanted to be spied on. Which I did not.

He fell in step with me as I walked along. I sighed, wondering what I should do to get rid of him. Stubbornly, I didn't speak to him, hoping that if I didn't react to anything he did, he would leave. After all, he seemed to find me quite amusing.

"Well?" His voice cut through the strained silence. "Aren't you going to tell me to leave you alone?"

I set my jaw and continued walking, even though the whole day was catching up to me rapidly and I could feel my muscles protesting.

"Do you usually travel at night?" The man just couldn't seem to tell when he wasn't wanted, could he?

Finally, after a few more minutes, it was too much for me. I was just too tired. I curled up in the hollow where a large tree's roots intertwined and put my bag next to me. The man ceased to be even mildly frightening, only irritating now, since I was so sleepy.

The man sat in the tree hollow next to mine and looked down on me with this piercingly blue eyes. As I tumbled into sleep, I was aware of two things. One, that I had never seen eyes of that colour or intensity anywhere in Sitia. Two, the man had laid a warm blanket on top of me with an infinite gentleness.

* * *

Should I just leave this be or continue?


	2. Waking Up

AS Ch4

* * *

I woke to the sound of fighting. Or rather, the eerie silence that ensues after one side has lost. Squinting so that I would still appear to be asleep, I opened my eyes slowly to the weak morning light. The same annoying man from last night was crouching over a body, and taking something from it. As I watched, he pocketed two knives glinting in the pale dawn light, a vial of a ruby-coloured liquid, and several darts. I looked to the left and right, and saw three others on the ground, scattered close to where I was lying.

Snake spit! Did this man kill these people? Was he some sort of dangerous, mentally unstable criminal on the loose? My fear returned to me once again and I had to make an enormous effort not to jump up and run as far and as fast as I could. The idea that this man would kill four innocent travellers...was he planning to kill me too? Perhaps he was just saving me to kill at a special occasion. I had to get away from this...this murderer immediately. I made up my mind to run as fast as I could to the nearest town and to inform the authorities.

The only problem with that was the fact that I was supposed to still be sleeping. If I decided to make a run for it now, he might well catch me and...I shuddered on the inside. I'll just pretend to be asleep until he finishes disposing of the bodies or whatever he's going to do and then I'll "wake up" and somehow ditch him.

"Still pretending?" I couldn't stop a gasp this time. He had somehow snuck up on me without getting my attention and was standing over me, his arms crossed and leaning to look down on me.

I shut my eyes properly this time, so I couldn't see anything. Not too lightly, but not too tight either. I made my breathing slightly deeper and my breaths longer.

"You honestly think that that's going to get you out of this?" His voice sounded amused. It didn't sound at all the the voice that I thought a murderer would have.

I couldn't help flinching as he lay down close to me, and his body brushed against mine. I gave up pretending and rolled away quickly.

"What are you doing? Get away from me!" I felt frantically for my switchblade. Luckily, it hadn't been confiscated by him while I was sleep. I silently berated myself for falling asleep in the presence of a strange man. Who knows what could have happened! I held out my switchblade again.

He made no movement to protect himself, and instead, propped himself up on an elbow and turned towards me. He raised his eyebrows and surveyed me with that annoying amused epxression again. "Go on, stab me with that if if makes you feel better."

I gaped incredulously. "You just killed four innocent men, and now you're just offering yourself to be killed?"

He grinned, seeming to find my expression funny. "I didn't kill them. If you just look closely, you'll see that they're still breathing." When I hesitated, he waved a hand at me, as if shooing me away. How irritating. "Go on, see for yourself. You obviously aren't going to believe me."

Backing away with the blade still pointed towards him, I stopped beside the closest man. He was indeed breathing and had a strong pulse. Looking around, I saw that all the men's chests were rising and falling as they took breaths. In fact, they all looked as if they were having a pleasant sleep.

"Alright. Fine. They're not dead. Now would you mind explaining why they're all unconscious?" I glared at him.

He sighed and sat up, leaning against the tree. "They were going to rob you of your belongings. They probably had worse things in mind too." He looked at me meaningfully.

Full comprehension of the situation snapped into my mind. I stumbled back a step. Things had been going terribly wrong ever since Leif left without me. When I saw him again, he was going to pay dearly for what I had to go through.

"And I suppose you want me to believe that you were some big hero that rescued me?" I asked sarcastically.

He laughed and his lips curled into a lethal smile. "Considering the fact that I did indeed save you, as a damsel in distress, you are obligated to thank me."

"Thank you for what? Following me around and not taking an obvious hint about leaving?"

He seemed offended. "I probably saved your life, you know. Definitely your sanity. A little gratitude would be pleasant."

I stubbornly refused to think about the fact that he was probably right. "Well..." I stopped and had to grit my teeth. "Thank you. Now I will be leaving. Good bye."

I hadn't taken a few steps before his hand closed around my wrist. I tried to pull away by jerking my arm but he wouldn't let me. "Now what?"

"I'm coming with you to the Citadel."

"NO!" I shook my wrist away from him with a defiant yank and was about to argue some more before he cut me off.

"Think about it. You might be attacked again, and without me, you could be seriously hurt. A woman travelling alone is just nothing but a trouble magnet. Bandits and rogues will invariably gravitate towards you without thinking. You'd be safer travelling with me."

"First of all, I don't even know who you are. _You_ could be a bandit or rogue, for all I know. Is that your plan? Lull me into a false sense of securtiy and then strike when I'm vulnerable?"

"If I was a bandit wouldn't I have teamed up with these bandits and reaped some rewards for myself as well? Besides, wouldn't I have robbed you before those bandits when I had the chance? That way I wouldn't even have to share the loot."

I ignored his logic. "Secondly, I want to travel alone."

"You're not safe. You'll be practically throwing yourself into trouble everyday."

"Thirdly, I find you irritating at _best_."

"Why? Because you know that I'm right about this?"

Grrrr. This man wasn't just irritating, he was cocky, arrogant, and his ego was definitely tremendously oversized. I was tired of arguing. Perhaps if I just let him come with me, he would stop and anyways, there would be plenty of chances to shake off his company. I immediately began planning a detour to the crowded town of Booruby.

"Why do you want to come, anyways? What business do you have at the Citadel?"

His face became cold, hard. I fought the urge to step back from him. He no longer looked like a man that would save women from bandits, but rather like one of their leaders.

"That's for me to know."

And for me to find out, that's for sure. I could feel my stupid curiousity that had gotten me in trouble so many times in the past rise up again and fight with my common sense. The curiousity won almost instantly.

When I spoke, it was with reluctancy. "Alright, if you want to travel with me, I'll have to know your name and clan. I don't travel with strangers."

His face softened slightly and he seemed surprised as if he thought I could argue some more.

"My name is Kelav, and I am from the Krystal clan."

Krystal clan. No wonder he was so pale. The Krystal clan lived right along the border between Sitia and Ixia, so it made sense that there would be Ixians or people of Ixian descent living there. Before the Commander of Ixia had taken over, the border was basically non-existant and the people of the two lands mixed frequently.

"Do you have any provisions or money to last the journey? Because I only brought enough for one person."

"Of course." He pulled on a bag and handed my bag to me.

As I put mine on, I could feel his stares. I squirmed uncomfortably.

"Who are _you_?" This was spoken so quietly I almost mistook it for a figment of my overactive imagination.

"I'm...Lena Zaltana." There. That at least sounded reasonably believable. Alright fine, that was a horrible lie, but at least it was better than one of Leif's!

He merely looked at me with raised eyebrows for a moment before turning towards one of the unconscious men and using a piece of rope to bind his arms and legs together. He then repeated this for the rest of the men. When he was done, he stood up and surveyed his work with a pleased look on his face.

A sudden thought occured to me. "Why did you do that? What if there are predators that come out a night and the men can't defend themselves?"

He sighed. "I didn't think you would notice but we're less than a mile away from Booruby. Someone's going to stumble upon these men in the afternoon today or at the latest, the evening."

"But what if..."

"No. There is not what if. Somebody will find these men. Besides, they just tried to rob and...do other unpleasant things to you. Do you really think that they deserve to escape, Lena?"

"If I keep arguing, you aren't going to change your mind, are you?"

He smiled at me, a quick uplifting of the edges of his lips that disappeared almost immediately. "See, you're getting to know me already."

Then, he spun around and began to walk in the direction of the Citadel. He didn't look back to see if I was following him or not; he just kept going. Stubbornly, I decided to stay in this spot until he decided that I was worth turning around for. Leaning against a tree trunk, I rested and waited.

After a few moments, I began to get slightly worried. What if he truly went off without me? I would look like such a fool if he did. But then it dawned on me. The annoying man was gone! Laughing, I pushed myself off the trunk and began jogging along the trail, my energy level increasing as I thought about my peace of mind once more.

Only to stumble onto him laying on the grass with his backpack as a pillow a few hundred metres along the trail. I ran harder. Hopefully he wouldn't hear me pass by, him being that far from the trail, and I would still be able to get away.

"Did you really think that you were going to be able to sneak away that easily?"

I sighed and stopped, looking back at him. He didn't even get up. He just lay there and crossed his arms behind his head. So this time, I was the one that just left without looking back. I kept on walking for over an hour, almost two hours. By that time, I had concluded that he must have changed his mind about wanting to accompany me to the Citadel and just left when an excuse was created. I felt slightly disappointed. I would have enjoyed some company on this trip, especially since Leif wasn't here and I was horrible at cooking meals.

Squinting, I saw a small speck in the distance. As I came closer, I could feel my jaw drop open. It was Kalev again, in that same relaxed position as he had been when I had left him. I looked around me in bewilderment. Had I been walking in circles this whole time?

He smiled at my confusion, to my annoyance. "Don't worry, I just took a shortcut to meet you here. How about let's make a truce to not leave the other person behind?"

"Just for this trip though." I didn't why I said that. It's not like I would be going on another trip with him.

"Deal. Truce?" He stood and offered his hand.

I grasped it firmly with my own. "Truce."

I then wondered why Kelav suddenly stood up gripping a knife he somehow produced from nowhere, his eyes focused on something behind me. I began to turn around, but a heavy object crashed against my head and my vision went black.


	3. Chapter 3

...

* * *

When I came to, all I was aware of was the pain that circled around my head. I tried to think of what had happened before I had gotten hit, but there was a strange blank spot where my memories should have been. I had never been confused this much in my life. It was even more confusing now that I thought of that because I didn't even know a single fact about my earlier life. Where had I grown up? Where and who was my family? Why did I get hit? What was my name?

All I could tell at the moment was that I was lying down on a soft mattress with a warm soft sheet covering me. The room I was in was very plain, with no decorations or color besides beige and black in it. There was a table beside the bed, with a dresser on the far side of the room, next to the door.

As I watched, the door creaked open, letting in a thin streak of harsh light from the hallway. I squinted and winced as my headache flared painfully again.

"Lena? You're up. Are you alright?" There was a man standing inside the room now, shutting the door behind him.

What? Who was this? I scrambled out of bed, not sure whether to fight or flee. "Who the hell are you?"

He sighed, seeming exasperated. "I thought that we've went through this already, Lena. Don't you want to get to the Citadel sooner?"

A picture of marble walls and four towers flashed into my mind. I had been travelling to the Citadel, I knew that now. I also had the nagging feeling that I was supposed to meet somebody there, but as hard as I tried to remember, I couldn't recall the face or name.

I looked around me in bewilderment. "What am I doing here?"

"You were hit on the head and you got knocked out...remember?" He frowned in concern.

"I remember getting knocked out, but...what was I doing before that? Where did I come from? Who am I?"

He gaped and I had a feeling that he did not usually give in to surprise like that. "You don't remember..." His voice trailed off and a moment later, he cursed violently. Then, he closed the door again, exiting the room and I heard him yelling at someone outside.

Creeping to the door, I pressed my ear against the wood to try and hear what was being said. The cold floor sapped away my warmth and I found myself shivering and wishing for the tropical temperatures of the jungle. What jungle, though?

The voices were faint, but clear. Still, some parts were lost to me because the door was so thick.

"...obvious that when you hit her, she lost all her memories."

Then another man's voice. It was rough and sounded a bit like rock scraping against rock. "I thought she was..."

"...her. This was supposed to be a reconnaisance mission, why..."

"...bad. Well, what are you going to do..."

"...don't know for sure. Take her to the Citadel like she..."

"...fine. Do you want me to..."

"No. You're on tavern duty again. That's your punishm..."

I then heard feet moving towards me again so I bounded into the bed and pulled the covers up to my chin. I sighed at the warmth. From what I heard, it sounded as if the men were arguing over me. I tried not to think again about the fact that I didn't remember anything at all to avoid the panic that I knew was inescapable. Sooner or later I would have to deal with it.

The door opened again. It was the man with the blue eyes. "Get dressed," he said curtly, pointing at the clothes draped over the back of a chair and closing the door again.

With shaking hands both from nervousness and the cold, I donned the clothes. They felt strange on my skin and draped awkwardly on me. I guess I hadn't worn clothes like these before I lost my memory. They were plain, black with no designs on themand they tended to cling to my body. When I was done, I stepped outside.

The man with the blue eyes was nowhere in sight, but another man was leaning against the opposite wall. It seemed that he was waiting for me. As I watched, he detached himself from the wall and walked towards me.

"I'm Janco," he told me with a cheerful smile. I noticed that he had a goatee and that his voice was the one that was arguing with Valek. He looked slightly disgruntled. "I probably shouldn't have told you that, but since you forgot everything, I guess it doesn't matter much."

"Nice to meet you, Janco. Can you tell me why I'm here?" I looked at him inquiringly.

His face reddened and he looked embarassed. "You...were hit over the head and you got knocked out so Valek and I took you here."

"How did I get hit? And who's...Valek?"

He drew a deep breath. "Um...Valek is my boss. He's the guy that told you to get changed, remember?" He clapped his hands over his mouth as if he had just said something that he didn't mean to say.

"Nice try. Now tell me how I got hit."

He squirmed. This Valek probably told him not to tell me. Still, I sensed sympathy...and guilt? in his gaze so I pressed my advantage.

"I don't remember anything at all, so it's safe to tell me." I gave him my best sad face, with pouting lips and downcast eyes.

He looked up at the ceiling in exasperation, then sighed in defeat. "I guess you do deserve to know even though Valek will kill me once he finds out."

"_If_ he finds out. I won't tell anyone. So tell me. _Now_."

"Well, it _could_ be that _someone_ was trying to travel from tree to tree above...certain travellers on the trail but he slipped and was about to make his presence known to the travellers, which he did not want to do."

"What does that have to do with anything?" I had a feeling I already knew who this 'somebody' was.

"There's more. This person knew that he would get yelled at by the boss, who was one of the travellers, if he got found out by the second traveller so he had no choice but to hit the second traveller over the head with a sword hilt."

I pondered over this new information. His words didn't bring back any memories like I hoped they would, but at least I knew something. If he was lying though, that would be a whole other story. But the man had no reason I could think of to lie. If he wanted, he could have just refused to tell me.

There were three things that I knew so far. First, I had lost my memory due to a blow to the head by a sword hilt, compliments of Janco. Two, my name was Lena and the man who was supposedly travelling with me to the Citadel was the man with the blue eyes, Valek. Three, there was somebody waiting for me at the Citadel and I was supposed to meet them as soon as possible. Maybe if I managed to see them there, my memories would come back, being triggered by the sight of the person.

"Janco, will you take me to the Citadel? I need to meet someone there."

He frowned. "I thought you forgot everything? And besides, Valek's taking you there."

I shuddered. My few interactions with Valek that I could remember were not pleasant. Basically it was him yelling at me to do something impatiently and leaving right after, assuming I would follow his orders. Plus, Valek seemed cold-hearted and just plain intimidating. I would not enjoy travelling with him.

"Please, can_ you _take me? I would go myself, but I don't remember the way there."

He looked uncomfortable. "I can't disobey one of his orders."

"No, he can't," said an expressionless voice that came from behind me. "_I'll _take you there."

Thinking quickly, I decided that travelling alone even if I didn't know how to get there would be preferably to travelling with a dangerous person. Besides, I could ask other people on the way for directions.

"That's quite alright. I remember how to get there."

He snorted. "Your lies are atrocious. Without me, you'd be hopelessly lost."

I cast one last pleading glance at Janco, who refused to look at me. "I don't want to inconvenience you."

He brushed aside my flimsy excuse. "Not at all. I'm planning to go there as well, so it would be no trouble at all."

I was cornered. How important was this to me? Would I rather defy this scary man's orders, or would I rather travel with him to the Citadel? It was a hard decision to make, especially since I really wanted to get my memories back sooner while Valek was standing there impatiently.

Being a coward at the moment, I decided to take the safe route. "Fine. I'll go with you."

He smiled for the first time ever since as far back as I could remember. Which, wasn't much. Granted, it was a small smile that was barely there, but it was still a smile, nevertheless.

"Pack your bags then, we leave immediately." With that, he turned away and disappeared around a corner.

How rude! I could feel my anger rising. A vague, blurry memory of tying someone, I think it was a brother? up a tree because I was mad at him flashed in my mind. Too bad I wouldn't be able to do that to Valek.

Janco looked at me in part sympathy, and part amusement, probably because he saw how mad I was. "He isn't usually like this, you know. Don't worry. Well, actually, he's like this most of the time, just not to such a degree. Anyways, you better hurry up before he comes back."

I stubbornly rooted my feet to the floor. If he was going to be so rude about it, I wasn't going to do anything. And besides, he bascially didn't give my any choice about travelling with him.

Janco groaned at the determined expression that must have been on my face. "He's amd enough already about you getting hit over the head, but now that you refuse to budge, he'll become super mad."

Super mad? I smiled slowly. I wondered what _that _would look like.

"Trust me, you do not want to find out what that's like," Janco told me when he read my expression, almost imploringly. "He's an assassin _and_ a spy, so it's doubly menacing and frightening. If only Ari was here..."

"He's an _assassin_!"

"I did not remember asking you to tell people who I am, " said Valek's deadpan voice from around the corner. It was cold enough to freeze the Illias Jungle.

"She doesn't remember anything anyways, so it makes no difference!" protested Janco.

Valek walked up to us and looked down at me. Where are your bags? his eyes asked. At that moment, I experienced what Janco called Valek's 'super mad' expression. His blue eyes were like ice with fiery anger beneath the surface. That, combined with the fact that I now knew that he was an assassin, scared me considerably.

Without commenting sarcastically like I wanted to before, I instead edged around him and went to my rooms to pack. When I came out ready, Janco was nowhere in sight and Valek was waiting for me.

"Why didn't you just go if you were so impatient? I would've caught up." I didn't look at him as I spoke, instead inspecting my boots.

"For two reasons. One, because I didn't want you to sneak off on your own. Two, we made a truce about this and I couldn't leave you behind." He smiled thinly.

Truce? What truce? Whatever, I would have a lot of time to think about my lost memories on what seemed was going to be a long journey.

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Um...Valek is quite mean in this chapter, but I've chalked it up to the fact that he was mad a Janco for almost ruining the mission and now he's taking his anger out on others, tsk tsk. Also, the reason why Valek is in Sitia and his reasons for escorting Yelena to the Citadel will be revealed laters...so don't get too confused :)

Review, review, review! :D


	4. Antisocial Behavior

I was going to do the whole fanfic in Yelena's perspective, but it seems that Valek just has to have a say in it as well, so here it is.

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Valek POV:

I felt slightly guilty for the fact that I was not saying anything to her. We were just travelling in silence and I could tell that she was not comfortable doing that. She probably came from a large family, with assorted aunts and uncles that chattered all day on trivial topics. Maybe she had ten talkative siblings and even more cousins. I knew nothing about this woman, I just realised, and yet I had agreed (well, actually, I had pretty much forced her) to go to the Citadel with me.

It was true that I needed her in order for my mission to be a success, but I wondered why I had chosen her, and not some other, more complacent and docile student. It would have certainly been easier on me.

"So...why are you headed to the Citadel anyways?" Her bright voice interrupted my brooding.

I took a deep breath and forced myself to calm down. I was still angry about Janco's mistake and about the fact that I was partially responsible for this girl losing her memory. As much as I didn't want to, I was honor-bound to help her reclaim it. Also, the fact that she had been so reluctant to travel with me in the first place stung. Was I really that irreproachable?

"That's my business." I said curtly and hoped that she would take the hint and fall silent again.

It worked for a while, but soon she began to talk once more. "How about we take turns asking questions and we have to answer honestly when we're asked?" she suggested.

I was puzzled. Well...more than that. I was very mystified. When I had first met this girl, despite my good mood and er...relative friendliness, she had been suspicious and mistrustful of me. And now that I was in a bad mood, she was chipper. How contrary.

"You are under no obligation to make any kind of conversation with me." I stated coldly. "In fact, it would be best for both of us if we were to remain silent for the remainder of this trip."

She stopped walking and I was forced to turn back. "What now?"

She glared at me. "Here I am, trying to make this a little more pleasant for both of us. You could at least play along, you know."

Actually, I couldn't. I hadn't lived this long by blabbing every secret I had to everyone that came along. But that was besides the point. "You don't need to do that."

"I am _trying _to help you with your antisocial behavior." She sighed impatiently, then clapped her hands over her mouth as if she did not mean to say that.

Antisocial behavior? I suppose some people would think of me as antisocial, but really, what did they expect from an assassin? I hadn't lived this long by blabbing out all my secrets to anyone that came along. But besides that, I would socialise if I put my mind to it. Really, it was just a matter of talking to people pleasantly.

I hadn't realised that I had just said my thoughts out loud until she began to grin.

She laughed. "Talking to people pleasantly, yes. Unfortunately, I don't think that that is one of your skills at this point."

"Fine, I might not be the most approachable person in the world, but that doesn't mean that I'm some kind of hermit either." After all, I lived in a bustling castle when I wasn't on any missions which consisted of over 500 people. No hermit would be able to withstand that.

"All right then. I will admit that you are not a hermit."

I was surprised at how easily she gave in. She seemed to be a very stubborn person.

"Of course, that doesn't mean that you're not antisocial."

I groaned internally and didn't respond. If I did, no doubt we'd be arguing in circles over and over again.

* * *

That evening, we reached a small and remote town in the Greenblade Clan's territory named Oates.

We agreed with the innkeeper of The Harvest Inn on a price for two rooms and then retired early to rest for morning. After checking to make sure there were no traps or spyholes in my room, I set my own traps and went to bed.

I had hoped for a peaceful night, but I wasn't going to get that, unfortunately. Sometime around an hour after midnight, a piercing scream broke through the silence.

I closed my eyes again and then opened them once more when I realised that the scream had come from Lena's room. Careful not to get caught in my own traps, I grabbed a couple of knives and darts from my bedside table and rushed to her room to help her. After all, without her, my mission would fail until I found another student travelling to the Citadel.

When I got to her room and wrenched open the door, however, I was welcomed by the sight of Lena standing triumphantly over an unconscious man in her nightdress. She was holding a chair up as if it weighed nothing and she was holding it like a sword of some sort.

I guess she hadn't needed my help after all. I hid my weapons in my clothes as the innkeeper and several other men rushed to her aid. They stopped at the doorway just as I did and looked at her with a combination of shock, awe and fear. One of the men laughed drunkenly.

"Ha! I guess good old Jeb wasn't successful!" He chortled and slapped one of this companions on the back with a resounding _twack_. Everyone winced in sympathy. The unfortunate man toppled over befor picking himself up and cursing.

The innkeeper turned to him with a glare. "So it was you that set this man up to go upsetting my valuable customers?"

The drunk sighed repentently. "Aw, come on, Wes, we were just havin' a bit of fun. All Jeb was supposed to do was to kiss an innocent maid'n in her sleep. How harmful is that?"

The innkeeper muttered. "If you weren't such a loyal customer, Rett, you'd be kicked out by now. Go back to bed, all of you!" He waved his arms in a gigantic shooing motion. He then turned to Lena and apologised for the commotion.

Lena smiled angelically. "Oh, that's quite alright, Wes. I took care of him, as you can see, so no harm is done."

The innkeeper was dumbfounded by her response. Wes tried to say something but he ended up blabbering some nonsense instead. It certainly didn't help that he was obviously infatuated with her beauty. I hadn't really noticed until now but she was...I pushed away those thoughts for another time.

Why was I having so much fun?

At the innkeeper's signal, I helped him lift the unfortunate man to another room and placed a glass of water on the table, in case he was thristy when he came to. After that, I went back to Lena's room to make sure that she wasn't hurt during the scuffle.

"Did you see how I took care of him?" Lena turned to me with a bright face.

"Yes..." What was I supposed to say to that.

"I felt this..." She broke off and shook her head, scowling in concentration. "I felt as if I did this before. I must have been a good fighter before I lost my memory."

I would say that she was a good fighter. Definitely better than most of the soldiers at the castle, and they were the Commander's personal soldiers.

I pointed to the bed. "Get some rest, Lena. We're leaving first thing tomorrow. Or today."

I watched her to make sure that she was in bed before I went back to my own room. Then, I exploded in laughter. Lena was honestly the strangest woman that I had ever met and she was quite amusing, as well. I had never laughed so hard about anything in my entire life and if only the Commander could see me now. He would have ordered me to go to the medic immediately. And everyone else in the castle would have been shocked to learn that _the_ Valek was now crazy. My reputation would be shattered.

That thought sobered me. I couldn't let that happen. First of all, it would be humiliating. Secondly, I sometimes counted on my reputation to get my out of scrapes. It was a valuable weapon when used correctly. When we set out again today, I would show no emotion whatsoever to whatever Lena threw at me. Antisocial or not, my reputation was at stake.

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When I was writing this chapter, I kept on thinking about the movie Tangle ( the one about Rapunzel) and how she kept on hitting Eugene on the head with a frying pan. Also, sorry for the shortness of this chapter. I will try put up a new one quickly to make up for it. :(


	5. Near Death Experience

Chapter 5

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Yelena POV:

We were on the road again regardless of the fact that even the roosters hadn't began crowing. When I mentioned this to Valek, he snorted and said that he had been nice already and let me sleep in due to my little adventure in the night. This caused me to wonder when he usually woke up.

It wasn't just waking up really early that bothered me. It was the fact that we hadn't had breakfast because Valek was so impatient to get going. My stomach began to rumble now, making strange noises that caused Valek to look amused.

"What? I'm hungry!" I said in response to this.

"Not to worry, we'll stop in a few hours to get something to eat," he replied absentmindedly.

A few hours? I didn't think I could last that long. That brought me to think about someone that I had known before that was always complaining about how hungry he was. Someone that I had found extremely annoying most of the time. I felt more cheerful once I realised that he was the person waiting for me at the Citadel. At least now I knew that even though it would take some time (alright, maybe a whole lot of time) my memories would come back and I would be able to carry on with my life.

Sighing, I continued to brood on my misfortunes. I was hungry, I didn't remember anything, I was travelling with an assassin...Then, as if I didn't have enough to grouch about, Valek stopped me and pulled me to a log by the side of a river that we apparently had to cross.

"Why are we crossing? I thought we were taking a straight and short route to the Citadel?" I asked with apprehension. The current seemed very strong and I couldn't remember if I learned how to swim before my memories were erased. I sincerely hoped so, because a rotting log placed carelessly over the rushing water seemed to be the only type of bridge I would get.

"We _are _taking a straight route. But we had to walk along the river first because this is the only place where it is moderately safe to make a crossing," Valek explained as he removed his boots and knotted them, slinging them around his neck.

I gulped. Moderately safe didn't mean completely safe. I didn't want to be a coward but I didn't want to drown either.

"I'll go first to make sure it's really safe and then you can come after me, got it?" Without hesitation, Valek balanced like a cat on the thin, unsteady log before taking at least ten swift steps to the other side. He got there without anything happening to him and put on his boots again.

"You might want to take off your boots as well before you cross," he called over the loud rushing of the water. "It helps you retain your balance more."

I took in a deep breath and began to unlace my boots. When my bare feet touched the log, I almost flinched back. The icy water had made the log just as cold, and the log had splinters sticking out of it to boot. Damn, this was going to be painful.

My first two steps were relatively steady. But on my third step, I nearly fell over when the current pushed the log, causing it to roll in place a bit. I flailed my arms wildly, just barely managing to stay on the log. Four, five, six, seven...almost there.

And then it happened. On my eighth step, a strong wave pushed against the log. The log had probably been placed there for years, gradually rotting more and more as time passed. But this wave was the last straw. The log cracked in two and was washed away in the current, with me clinging to a piece.

Gasping for air, I ignored the shock of the freezing water, instead kicking my legs in a vain attempt to swim to Valek. I went under for a long while when another wave washed over my head and when I resurfaced, I saw no sign of Valek on the riverbank. I grew even colder, if that was possible. Had he abandoned me?

As soon as that thought flashed through my panicked mind, I felt someone's arms close around me, and I was slowly, but surely being steered towards the riverbank.

"Trouble follows you whereever you go, did you know that?" Valek huffed close to me ear. Another wave washed over us and we sputtered when we resurfaced.

"Not my fault," I shot back. "It was _your_ dumb idea to try to cross this rotting log. Did you get your danger fix for the day yet?"

"_I_ crossed without anything happening to me. It was just _you _that had problems."

"We can't all be assassins, you know." At this point, we had managed to reach the bank. Valek pulled me up first before hauling himself up beside me.

"If it wasn't for me being an assassin, I wouldn't have had the skills to save you. Therefore you would be dead." He stomped to this backpack, which he had placed next to a tree and he pulled out a thick woolen cloak.

"Here, put this on before you get sick." He threw the cloak at me and I caught it reflexively. As I watched him, he took out some tinder and flint and began to gather some dry stickes to make a fire.

"Won't you be cold?" I was touched at his giving his cloak to me.

"I'll be making a fire. " He began to strike the two objects together until a spark fell onto the sticks. He blew on it until a small fire formed and then he added more sticks to make it bigger.

I faintly remembered being taught how to make a fire as well, which led me to the question of who taught me.

He pulled out a spare set of clothes from his backpack and went into the forest to change. Then my eyes widened as I realised that I had lost my backpack in the river. So I had no clothes to change into.

I pulled the cloak close, shivering. Even though it was pretty thick, I still had damp and icy clothes molded to my body.

Valek came out of the forest, dressed in nothing but a pair of black pants and his boots, his hair still wet.

I smothered a gasp. Then, I looked very intensely at the fire to try to hide the fact that my face was probably red. Think about the fact that he's an assassin. Don't think about...

"Lena?" I looked up at the sound of my name, careful to keep a blank expression. I looked at his face and tried not to look at his body. It didn't work that well, and I could see that he was amused by this. I wanted to be swallowed up by the ground then and there.

"Why don't you change into my shirt and keep on the cloak until your clothes dry?" I nodded jerkily, glad that something finally made sense.

I hurried away as soon as the shirt was tossed in my direction, then hurriedly changed into it, wrapping the cloak tightly over myself. I paused before I headed back and took a few deep inhales and exhales. When I got back, I would avoid looking at him so that the remaining shreds of my dignity would still be intact.

He was laying out his clothes around the fire and he did the same with the clothes that I handed him. After he did that, he began to search in his pack for jerky for the both of us. We sat across from each other with the fire between us, silently chewing.

I looked around to see that the surroundings were unfamiliar to me. "Where are we?"

He finished his jerky and lay back on the ground. "We're somewhere downstream. The current carried us down a long way."

"Are we lost ?"

"No, we'll just walk along the river in the opposite direction of the current and then continue on our way."

I groaned and plopped down on the ground like Valek. More walking to do. Then a panic-inducing thought occured to me. "Valek, how much food do you have left?"

He sighed. "Since you eat ravenously like a madwoman, it looks like we'll have to make a detour to the town of Rye to restock."

"I don't eat like a madwoman!" I said indignantly. "Is it so surprising that I was hungry after I nearly drowned?"

He snorted with amusement. "Madwoman or not, we'll have to reach Rye soon and go to their marketplace. You can also buy a new pack as well as some new clothes."

I wondered what my old self would have thought of me at this moment. I laughed. I was dressed only in a shirt and a cloak and on top of that, I was relaxing next to a warm fire with an assassin that had just saved my life. And I actually felt happy and content about this.

He sat up and looked at me confusedly. "What's so funny?"

I smiled up at the midday sun, slightly sleepy. "Nothing, nothing at all."

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	6. Clothes, Orbs and Soul Mates

**Chapter 6**

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The marketplace at Rye was a busy, bustling place, filled with shoppers intent on getting the goods they wanted quickly so they could head on home. Valek and I had no trouble finding a new pack and restocking on food, but finding clothes my size was like finding a needle in a haystack.

I was petite compared to most Sitians, so most of the pre-made clothes were not my size. And we couldn't order a new set of clothes to be made either, since Valek and I were both impatient to get to the Citadel.

After asking one of the fruit merchants, we found out that the best place to look for items that nobody usually buys would be on the northeast side of the market. When we got there, I was amazed to see that there were hordes of people there bargaining for prices and fighting over items. Before I could locate a merchant that sold what I wanted, a woman in the stall on the right side of the street beckoned to us.

Frowning in curiosity, I started to walk towards her. Valek tried to stop me but when I stubbornly persisted, he gave up and came with me.

The black and curly haired woman gave us a mysterious and suggestive smile as she shook her bangles. "Sweethearts, the both of you?"

I looked down at the table awkwardly and bit my tongue. _Say something, Valek! Say something!_

Valek snorted. "I'd feel sorry for whoever was stuck with this food-guzzling woman."

I shot him a dirty look as the woman rolled her eyes. "_Men_," we said in unison.

"Well then, I have the perfect thing for you. I can see that you need to find someone special, yes?" the woman exclaimed as she bustled around in the small space.

"Oh no, we don't-" But the woman cut me off by placing her hand over my mouth.

"I charge you nothing. This is just for you two darlings." She drew out two heavy orbs that seemed to be made of a high quality glass as well as two shallow cups filled with an aromatic liquid. "Drink and then look into the orbs. You should see a face and that will be your true love."

Valek laughed. "Thank you, but I don't need to find my true love."

"I insist." The woman thrust a cup and an orb into his unwilling hands and smiled charmingly up at him. "Unless of course...you are afraid to find out who it is?"

They both shared a look full of understanding, shock on Valek's side and amusement on the woman's.

"Fine," Valek muttered before throwing his head back and draining the cup in a single gulp. [Yes, he did taste for poisons, but he did it so quickly Yelena didn't see]. He then stared at the orb with an exasperated expression on his face.

As I watched, his face changed, the emotions changing so quickly that I barely had time to see what they were. From annoyance to shock to ...fear? I instinctively knew that whoever showed up in his orb must have been someone he knew to provoke that sort of reaction from him. He thrust the orb back at the woman as if it was a poisonous snake and abruptly turned to go, pulling me behind him by the arm like a naughty child.

"Wait!" I struggled against his grip. "I haven't seen _my_ true love yet!"

"You don't need to!"

"Um...I'd like to find out, even if you didn't!" After I struggled with him for a few minutes, attracting the notice of several women who looked bemused, he sighed and went back to the stall with me.

"Nothing but tricks," he growled.

The woman sighed and looked at him piercingly. She then grinned. "Really? Or are you just afraid to accept your fate?"

"I don't believe in fate." When the woman remained silent, he sighed. "Anyways, it's impossible and can never happen, whether it's my fate or not."

She looked at him thoughtfully. "I wouldn't give up on the idea just yet."

Now I was really curious as to who he saw. But before I could ask, the woman handed me my cup and an orb, gesturing for me to drink. Like Valek, I drank it in one gulp and winced at the extremely sweet taste. It was almost sickly sweet and had the consistency of melted candle wax. Then I held up my surprisingly heavy orb and glanced into it.

For a moment, I thought nothing was going to happen and that Valek and the woman had been playing some sort of trick on me. But as soon as that thought flashed through my mind, the edges of my vision went blurry. In fact, everything went blurry except for the orb and what was inside it. The orb seemed to have some sort of cloudy substance inside and as I watched, the smoke slowly took on the appearance of a face. A face that I was now coming to get to know very well.

The dark curls, the sharp planes of the face, the shockingly sapphire blue eyes. There was no mistaking it. It was Valek. At first I gaped and then I just blinked blankly. That couldn't be possible! This was the same man that I found incredibly annoying already even though I had only known him for a short time.

But on the other hand...I closed my eyes, remembering how Valek had looking without a shirt. I felt my cheeks flame. Was Valek being my soul mate really such a bad thing?

The orb didn't give me enough time to recover from my shock. The vision left as fast as it came, leaving me gasping in front of the stall.

"Well?" Valek's impatient voice cut through my foggy mind. "Who did you see?"

I flinched at the sound of his voice and whirled around to look at him, knocking the table in the process. "Oh, nobody important. No, nothing important at all." I wanted to smack myself. My voice had been so high pitched that I was sure that dogs would have come running. Sure enough, I heard a bark in the distance.

The woman quickly took stock of my situation and thankfully came to my rescue. "Now, now, sir. She didn't pry into your business now, did she?"

For a moment, I thought that Valek was still going to insist, but instead he thanked the woman and led me away to find my clothes. As he scanned to stalls up and down the streets, I observed him. Who did he get? Did he get me? If he did, was that the reason he was so shocked and in denial?

I scowled at that thought. There was no reason to find me repulsive. I wasn't annoying like he was and I wasn't arrogant either. I didn't go around leading people to cross rotting logs, or avoid talking for a whole morning. But perhaps that would be the type of person that he found appealing. In other words, a lunatic.

I stumbled when Valek jerked on my arm and pulled me to an insignificant-looking stall at the end of a dead-end street. I saw the colourful slashes of fabric and I guessed that it was probably a clothing shop. The merchant there welcomed us and when I explained my situation, he said that he had some clothes that might fit me. I waited hopefully for him to come back out from behind the curtain. I didn't want to spend any more time hunting down some clothes. Even though it didn't appeal to me, I guess that I could make do without an extra set of clothes until I got to the Citadel. Especially since I didn't want to spend more time with Valek than was necessary. I would probably die of irritation, or worse, somehow manage to fall for him. After all, he wasn't unattractive at all and...

The merchant saved me by coming out from the curtain and holding up a set of clothes triumphantly in the air. I went behind the curtain to try them on and was pleased to see that they fit perfectly. Coming out, I paid for them and asked the merchant where he got them from. The merchant began laughing incontrollably when I asked but he finally managed to blurt out that they were clothes he had originally made for his fourteen year old daughter.

Valek, being the person he was, joined in with the laughter while I rolled my eyes. "Enough laughter at my expense," I muttered and dragged him away.

"Where are we going?" he asked once we had gotten away from the market.

"The Citadel," I said, surprised.

"We're going in the wrong way, you know," he reminded me gently.

I snatched back my hand and crossed my arms over my chest. "You go on, then." I sat down on the hard dirt with an oomph.

He immediately sat down next to me. "What's wrong now?"

"Nothing, why would you ask?"

"Does this have anything to do with who you saw in the orb?"

I paused. "Maybe. Partially."

"Would it help to tell me who it was?" He grinned irresistably at me.

I flinched back from him. "Definitely not!"

He leaned in closer to me until our noses were almost touching. "I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours..." he teased. His deep blue eyes bore directly into mine.

I considered this. I didn't want Valek to find out it was him unless he saw me in his orb. If he didn't, it would be very embarassing and the rest of the journey would become unbearable.

"You tell me yours first." I countered.

"Do you really want to know?" Valek asked, leaning in even closer, a smile in his voice. All I had to do was lean in a little and I would be able to kiss him. Not...that I wanted to, of course.

"Of course I want to know." My voice could barely be heard.

"It's..._me_." Of course he wouldn't really tell me. I rolled my eyes and tried to get to my feet, but he pulled me down again.

"Now you have to tell me yours," he protested.

I pretended to think for a moment. "Hmm...well. I don't know who he is, but I'm pretty sure that I knew him before I lost my memories."

His eyes narrowed. "You're lying."

This time I got up and away before he could pull me down again. "You lied as well, so we're even now."

His eyes scanned my face for what seemed was a very long time before he nodded slightly and followed me. As he did so, I had the disturbing feeling that he somehow knew that I had seen him.

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	7. A Rainy Day

**Chapter 7**

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Almost skipping along, I felt very cheerful. The cool air had the fresh, slightly salty smell of the nearby sea and some purple flowers were in bloom. The sun was shining, the seagulls were singing...Yup, you guessed it. Valek and I were travelling along the Stormdance Clan's border.

Overcome by curiousity, I pointed at the red, fragrant flowers that were scattered all along the path. "What are those?"

He looked at me incredulously. "Haven't you ever seen roses before? Or heard about them? General knowledge?"

"I probably did, but since your little friend clonked me over the head, I don't remember it."

Chatised, he fell silent. I looked at him, and saw that he was staring at the horizon to the west. When I turned to look, I stopped breathing. An impossibly large storm cloud was lurking over the barely visible glint of the sea.

"One can only hope that Stormdancers enjoy their work," Valek murmured, seeming distracted.

"What are Stormdancers?"

"You've never heard of...oh, never mind. The Stormdancers, whose territory we are treading on, by the way, are a clan that have a small group of immensely talented people. These people have a unique skill: the ability to harvest any storm's powers into glass orbs. The orbs are then used to power factories in the clan and in the rare case where there are a few extras, they are sold to the highest bidder."

"How do they harvest the storm's power?"

"They have to stand on the beach, or even in the shallow water during a storm and when it hits, they use their special magic to draw it out. I don't know the specifics."

I gasped. "What if they get sucked in by the storm or they get hurt?"

"That's a risk that they're willing to take. Without them, all of Sitia would be ravaged by viscious and devastating storms all through the hot season."

"Speaking of magic, do you possess any?" This had never occured to me until now.

He pursed his lips, considering my question. "No, I do not, and I'm glad of it."

"I would have thought that magic would make life more convenient."

"On the contrary, it corrupts those that have large amounts of it some of the time."

"Well, if you did have magic, what would you want to be able to do?"

"Well, I don't so there's no use in bringing up hypothetical situations."

I tugged at his arm and bothered him until he finally gave in. "Would you also want to be a Stormdancer?"

Sighing, he answered. "No. I would probably want magic that could help me protect those that can't protect themselves as well as for the benefit of...Sitia."

I looked at him sceptically. "You? And altruism?"

"You don't think that I'm altruistic? Didn't I save your life when you clumsily fell off that log into the river?"

"Watch who you're calling clumsy! For your information, that was all your fault, for leading me onto a rotting log."

He ignored that fact. "I've done altruistic things in my life. In fact, I'd say that I've been mostly selfless in my life."

"Fine. Tell me something that you did. And don't you dare lie."

He smiled briefly. "I doubt you would be able to tell when I lie. Let's see...when I was a little boy, I gave my friend my sweet when she lost hers in a cave."

I humphed. "Alright. I will admit that was...borderline decent. Have you ever offered your life for someone else's?"

He grew silent. "Multiple times," he said after a long pause.

"Who?" I asked, intrigued. Was it a sweetheart, a close friend, a family member? "Your wife, perhaps?"

He looked at me strangely. "If I had a wife, she would have probably separated from me by now. Life as an assassin is not very conducive to a good marriage." He sounded sad, and I almost leaned out to touch him with comfort, before pulling back. He probably wouldn't like it and shrug me off.

"Of course, that would change if she was an assassin as well."

He laughed long and hard at that. "Assassins aren't generally very friendly. She would probably be a virago most of the time. If not all the time."

I smiled at the idea of Valek being a henpecked husband. "You have the personality to suit her, I would think."

He looked horrified. "How so?"

"You're annoying, and exasperating most of the time. I'm sure that she'll enjoy having more reasons to browbeat you." I laughed at the idea of an enraged wife swiping at Valek with a dish towel.

As we were talking, it had begun to rain, first in a faint drizzle that turned now into a heavy downpour. Valek and I ran to a nearby tree and hid under one of the person-sized leaves to remain dry. Of course, the leaf was still not big enough to cover us as well as our packs. Valek had taken the inner corner and I glumly resigned myself to standing outside and getting soaked.

Before I could go, strong arms wrapped me into a warm and reassuring embrace. I inhaled a musky, spicy smell and cautiously leaned my head against his chest.

"What are you doing?" I asked him in a whisper.

"Making sure you stay dry, of course," he stated in a matter-of-fact voice. I wanted to hit myself for thinking, even for a second that...

His arms wrapped tighter around me as if protecting me from the outside world. I closed my eyes and smiled.

"I don't think that I'm annoying," he said, ruining the moment.

"Annoying people never think that." I smiled at his statement.

"You know, most people would never have the nerve to say that to me."I peek around him to see that the rain was still falling in thick sheets. Good.

"Because you're an assassin? I don't blame them. They probably just humour you most of the time to avoid any unpleasantness. You could probably eat a whole pie while doing a handstand on the table and they wouldn't bat an eye."I laughed at the mental image of that.

"First of all, why would I be doing that in the first place?" He shook his head in amazement. "And secondly, I would need at least one hand to hold the pie in and I don't think that I can do a handstand with one hand alone. Well, at least, I haven't tried yet."

I scoffed. "That doesn't sound too hard. I could probably do it."

"Then try." Without hesitation, he picked me up off my feet and turned me upside down.

I gasped and struggled. "Let go!"

He turned me right side up again, laughing. It was only then that I noticed that the rain had stopped just as suddenly as it began. The sun was slowly, but surely coming out from behind the clouds once more. We emerged cautiously from the leaf and continued on our way again.

"The Stormdancers have probably just finished harvesting the magic from that storm," he remarked absentmindedly."Imagine, all the power of a might storm, contained in a small glass ball. If the glass ever shatters, people within a three yard radius would probably be killed instantly."

I was barely listening to him. I was too busy observing those red flowers that Valek said were roses, which were scattered on little bushes at the side of the road. When I had first seen them, I had admired them for their beauty and warm fragrance. But now, when I looked closer, I saw that the stems were covered by lethal looking thorns that would no doubt puncture the skin of anyone who had dared touch them.

Wasn't it that way with love as well? Falling in love seemed to be a beautiful thing as well when you first thought about it. But then you realise that even if it was as wonderful as it first seemed, it was also dotted with seemingly infinite disasters. What if the man you loved didn't love you back? What if they left one day without even a simple good bye? Would love still be worth it if this happened. I didn't know. But I had a feeling that something was starting to happen and if I didn't stop it soon, I might be left feeling empty, alone. Valek was only coming with me as far as the Citadel. It wouldn't do to develop even the slightest infatuation for the man.

Valek suddenly stopped by the side of the road and I walked a few steps before I realised he was behind me. Going to him, I asked, "What are you doing?"

With infinite care, he slowly reached into the leaves of a bush and pulled out one of the roses, gripping it carefully where there were no thorns. It was unscathed, being buried deep inside the bush and all the petals were intact and flawless, unlike most of the flowers I had seen. Reaching for a dagger in his belt, he swiftly cut the rose from the bush and meticulously began to slash off the thorns. Once the stem was smooth, he handed it to me with a smile.

"I thought you would like one. You were admiring them ever since we came to this place."

* * *

***sigh* Yes, this chapter doesn't have much to do with the plot, but I don't know, I just felt like writing it. Not a long chapter, but hopefully, next time I will be able to think of more to write about.**


	8. An Unexpected Wedding

Chapter 8

* * *

Valek and I had now reached the Krystal Clan border, and was getting ready to pass into the Featherstone Clan's territory. Feeling bored, I had persuaded Valek to come with me into a small town there called Quartz in spite my impatience to get to my destination. It seemed that the closer we got to the Citadel, the faster I wanted to travel.

"Why?" Valek grumbled and complained. "We don't have the time for this."

I had been surprised by his reluctant agreement to make a small detour. We didn't need that much food, in fact, we could have probably made it to the Citadel comfortably if we rationed everything out carefully. But I didn't point that out, in case he changed his mind about coming with me, or even worse, making another bad crack at my appetite.

The town was small, but busy, with men, women and children rushing all over the place. When we tried to ask someone what was going on, they just pointed hurriedly at a large house at the end of a crowded street before rushing back to complete their errand. Mystified, we followed the direction that the many fingers had pointed in.

Walking along the main street was difficult. There were merchant's stores on either side and now that we had a chance to look around, I could see that every surface was decorated with bows, ribbons, beads and everything imaginable. There must be some kind of celebration in order for everything to be covered with colour and sparkle.

Valek made a face as we passed a store entired dressed in various shades of pink bows, ribbons and lace. He shuddered at the sight. Laughing at him, I pointed at a store that had a sign being tacked onto its large front wall.

WEDDING AT TERN FAMILY RESIDENCE, the sign read. "Can you believe that we've had the luck to come during a wedding?" I exclaimed to Valek.

"Can you believe how unbelievably unfortunate we are to come at this time?" he shouted back at me over the din at the same time.

We stopped and stared at each other. "Oh no," Valek said. "We are NOT going to this."

"Come on! Now that we're here and it seems that the family wants anybody willing to come to come, I don't see any reason why we shouldn't attend."I pulled him to the direction of the large crowd hovering outside what I assumed was the bride's house.

"We're not dressed for the occasion," Valek said, pulling back. I had to stop myself from rolling my eyes. Was he going to keep spouting excuses until the wedding was over?

"Most of the people going aren't either," I pointed out as we got closer. It was true. All the farmers were wearing their everyday work clothing while the merchants and the rest didn't spruce up for the occasion either. Well, everyone except for the bride and the bridal party, of course.

Before Valek could somehow manage to squirm away, a large, rather intimadating lady came out to greet us, gripping each of our hands in each of hers, as if preventing us from going.

"It's so pleasant to see newcomers. And just in time as well! My daughter is getting married today and the village is very excited about this. You're both welcome to attend and don't you worry about a thing! Just enjoy yourselves." Her welcome was heartfelt, but was spoken in rushed speech. She then whirled away, leaving behind the scent of apple pie as she fought her way through the crowd again.

I turned to Valek with a triumphant smile. "See?"

Soon afterwards, the bride's brother came to the front of the crowd and told everyone to be seated inside. I hustled Valek to one of the benches and pulled him down next to me. A poignant strain of a violin melody filled the air. A viola then gradually joined it and together, they harmonised into a wedding march.

The bride slowly and gracefully walked up to the front, with younger girls scattering rose petals behind her. Rose petals the exact color of the rose that Valek had given me. The expression of joy on the bride's face nearly brought tears to my eyes. She smiled up at the young man that was waiting for her and I wondered. Would I ever be able to be that happy one day? Would I ever get married, have children, lead a normal life? My heart dropped when I realised that until my memories came back, I would never be able to do those things. After all, what if I was already married? I've heard of people in some tribes that married their girls off at the age of 15, which seemed to me as rather barbaric, but _what if_?

I hadn't noticed that I was getting stiffer and stiffer until I looked down and saw my hands shaking. My vision blurred with tears. I had been so confident that eventually everything would return back to normal but recently, less and less memories have been coming back. If they stopped altogether, I would lose who I was, and where I belonged.

Valek's hands reached for mine and he gently squeezed my hand gently in comfort. I took a few deep breaths to avoid making a scene and I nudged Valek in gratitude. The wedding was soon over and everyone dispersed to the refreshments table : the women to gossip while eating (bride included) and the men to guzzle free ale (groom included).

Valek pulled me to the side and handed me a napkin. It had been folded into a swan like all the other napkins at the refreshment area and I felt bad for using it to blow my nose. It seemed to me like a waste of perfectly good napkin folding skills.

"Let's go," Valek urged. "You're not well, and there's no way you can enjoy the wedding this way."

I smiled and scrunched up my napkin, holding it so tightly, my knuckles paled in comparison with the rest of my skin. "So you can go and avoid having to dance after they're done eating?"

"You don't want to see me dance. Your feet will never be the same again." He gave my feet a pitying glance.

I laughed despite myself. "Nevertheless, that is not something that I can miss experiencing. After all, I'll need something to think over and laugh about once I get to the Citadel."

When I heard the violins playing again, the bride's mother came over to us and pulled us out to the clearing, telling us that we needed to dance. I was agreeable but Valek was very reluctant. The mother just laughed at him and jokingly threatened to hit him with a tea towel if he did not comply. Surprisingly, Valek decided to play it safe. I guess he didn't want to face the wrath of a vengeful mother armed with a tea towel, assassin or not.

A lilting melody filled the air and the other couples began to dip and sway, following the dominating rhythmic beat. I noticed that the couples danced exceedingly close to one another; the women were all tightly clasped to the mens' sides. Valek and I tried to follow along, but we were too uncoordinated and we couldn't seem to be able to synchronise our moves like the others.

With a sigh of frustration, Valek suddenly drew me close, so that my body was molded to his from head to toe. I could feel the rise and fall of his chest as he breathed and the continuous beat of his heart. For some reason, it was beating faster and faster. Hmmm...I gasped in surprise as I thought of an explanation and had no time to recover before we had to do the next set of steps. I could barely concentrate on doing the moves, because I was so close to him. The only thing that I could do was keep from stepping on his feet, which would have been mortifying.

When I turned my head from his chest to look up at him, his expression was neutral. Cold. I flinched back a bit, stumbling before he caught me again. Did I misinterpret the situation? Either way, I had no time to think on that, since the dancing was officially over and everyone was now mingling with one another, talking about what had happened since they had last seen each other.

Valek and I awkwardly broke apart. I didn't want to let him go, and once I had pulled away, I felt suddenly cold and alone. Shivering, I rubbed my arms as the bride's mother headed towards us.

"Thank you both for coming. Ah, young love. It's a beautiful thing, yes?" she sighed, looking dreamily at her daughter and her new son-in-law.

Valek smiled a bit frostily. "It depends on how you look at it, ma'am."

"I will have to disagree with you there. Love is a beautiful thing, from all perspectives."

I gaped at her. I would have assumed that she would have said the exact opposite, considering how many marriages failed in the first year or so. "Why do you have so much faith in it?" I asked curiously.

She smiled sadly and her eyes focused on something in the distance as if she was remembering a pleasant memory from long ago. "Even when you have nothing left, you still have hope, don't you? That something will change and someday it will be better..."

I frowned in concern. Was her husband abusing her? What did he do?

Valek seemed to be thinking the same thing as me. "Does...Is your husband hurting you?" He stared at her with intensity. I was touched slightly at his eagerness to help someone in need.

"Oh, _no_! Not at all. That's not what I meant to imply. It's just..." She stopped and to my dismay, blotted some tears with her handkerchief. "My husband's been very good to me. He's very affectionate and of course, I'm fond of him as well, but..." She paused to blow her nose with a horn-like sound. "But it's not the same! Watching my daughter get married to the love of her life while I was trapped in an arranged marriage...it's just gotten me emotional, that's all. Please don't mind me, I hope I didn't spoil the wedding mood. I apologize. I shouldn't be blabbing."

She hurried away to the house to wash her face and Valek and I watched as a man, supposedly her husband, went after her in concern.

"Poor woman," Valek muttered, looking after her.

I had to agree with him. All I could do was hope that someday it would get better for her, even though I didn't see how. Valek drew me away from the festivites and back on the road, shooing me to walk faster.

Turning to look at Valek, I studied him for a long time. He noticed and looked back at me, causing me to blush and look down. Why did I do that?

"What would you do, if you were trapped into a marriage with the virago assassin?" I asked to lighten the mood.

Valek looked thoughtful. "I don't know. Prevent her from killing me in my sleep?"

"Good point. Aren't you glad that we went to that wedding?"

He snorted in derision. "How could I enjoy it with you stepping all over my feet?"

"Hey! Weren't you the one that admitted to being a terrible dancer?" I elbowed him as we continued on our way.

* * *

So, did anyone think that it was Yelena's and Valek's wedding when they saw the chapter title? :)

I seemed to be in a sentimental mood when I was writing this, so disregard anything strange that I mignt have written. :D

Also, for those of you that are interested, the sequel to the Assassin's Secretary (my other Poison Study fanfic) is coming out soon so keep an eye out for it.


	9. Soulfinder

Looks like Valek had to have another say...

* * *

"Where the hell is Yelena?" Leif muttered as he strolled through the halls of the Keep with Irys Jewelrose, Fourth Magician.

"It's imperative that she gets here on time," Irys said worriedly. "If she comes any later, I'm going to have to worry about what Roze is going to do. I don't want to have to do this but..."

They fell silent as they thought about what was implied. "No," Leif stated firmly. "I would never let that happen to her."

"That's not your choice anymore. It hasn't been ever since she became a potential danger to Sitia. She could well destroy the power source for centuries to come."

"Tell me, why haven't you discovered her power before?" Leif stopped in the middle of the crowded hallway, causing some of the students to trip and drop their books. They hurried away while giving him dirty glances. "Why did you just discover this recently? If we had more time, Yelena's life wouldn't be so much in danger."

Irys frowned. "That's a strange thing, that. We've been checking every clan every year for children born with power since we've been running low on magicians. But every time that we've come to the Illias Jungle, Yelena has never shown any magical ability. Until the last time we checked, of course."

"But... but that's impossible! Magic is supposed to start to show when you go through puberty, and Yelena is basically an adult now!" Plucking a tart off of a tea tray, Leif munched at it, his face furrowed in distress.

"Yes...we've never seen something like before. In fact, nothing like this has occured in the last few centuries. The only time it ever happened was because..." Irys broke off and her face blanched. Leif clutched her arm to steady her as she swayed on her feet.

"What? _Tell me!"_ Leif led her to an empty classroom and sat her down on a chair.

"Soulfinder,"she whispered through barely open lips.

Leif's face drained of blood. "You can't be serious."

"That would explain everything. Her enormous power, her..." Irys shook her head. "Don't say anything to anyone yet, Leif. I don't want people speculating on this until we're sure that she is one."

"You're not going to kill her, are you?" The question was put bluntly, but Irys see the intense fear in Leif's eyes.

She didn't say anything for a long time.

"Please," Leif pleaded. "Don't kill her. For all you know, she could do some good in Sitia. If you teach her to use her powers for good...and anyways, I've known Yelena for years. She would never do anything like that."

She closed her eyes and leaned against the back of her chair, sighing. "We'll have to see, Leif. These things can't be decided at the moment. It depends on how dangerous she is, what she intends to use her powers for,and if she can be trained. But most of all, it depends on what the Council thinks."

Leif covered his eyes with his hand. The Sitian Council was probably the biggest group of cowards there ever were in the history of the world. Any whiff of danger, and they would vote to have it extinguished, or in Yelena's case, exterminated. A shiver ran down his back, ever in the warmth of the classroom. The only positive thing was that they took forever to make a decision, which would buy more time, even if it was only a few days, for his little sister. _Yelena..._

_

* * *

_

Valek POV:

As we sat resting around our small, but cozy fire that night, I figured out my plan on what to do once I reached the Citadel, like I did for all my major missions. Or more specifically, once I reached the Keep.

My mission: _to locate the new Soulfinder and assassinate him/her (I recieved a tip off from an anonymous person in Sitia. The Commander made me go to investigate, just to be safe, considering what had happened when the last Soulfinder was alive.)_

My disguise: _a resident gardener at the Keep ( One of my associates secured me a job.)_

My plan: _determine if there is a Soulfinder. If so, determine who it is and befriend them. Then in a moment of weakness, take them out._

Weapon of choice: _poison, preferrably My Love. Second option: knives._

"What are you thinking about?" Lena asked curiously. "You've been really quiet this last hour."

"Nothing." What if _she_ was the Soulfinder? Would I be able to finish the job? I didn't know. All that I _did_ know was that I had formed a forbidden attachment to this girl, whether I liked it or not. I had to make sure that that did not interfere with my mission. The Commander's orders would always come first for me.

Therefore the last thing I should do is investigate this attachment. That would probably get me deeper in this mess than ever. What I should do is leave Lena as soon as I had escorted her to the Keep and then leave her alone. Luckily gardeners did not interact with students, so there was little to no chance of me ever encountering her again.

For some reason, the thought of not being able to talk and see her everyday anymore caused a strange, hollow feeling in my heart. Funny. As far as the servants, soldiers and Advisors in the castle were concerned, I _had_ no heart.

We'd probably reach our destination in two to three days. My time left with her was now very very short and limited. My throat felt tight for a second, which I passed off for allergies.

Lena twisted her body in order to reach into her bag. What was she doing? It looked like she was trying to hide something from me, which only made me more curious. When she peered at me though, I looked away at a tree and pretended to be very absorbed by it. What beautiful leaves...

She resumed rummaging in her bags and out of the corner of my eye, it seemed as if she was tucking something very important to her more safely inside. A flash of red and suddenly I knew what it was. It was the rose that I had given her,on that rainy day.

My heart stopped beating for a moment. She had kept that for all this time? And she was even safeguarding it like some kind of treasure. Did she...

"How long until we reach the Citadel?" Lena inquired, causing me to flinch and sit up like I was guilty of some heinous crime. Which, according to some people and all Sitians, I was.

"Two to three days at most." If only it was longer...

She gnawed at her lip, seeming nervous. I suddenly wanted to stop her from chewing on her bottom lip like that. It was probably painful, and the fact that she didn't even seem to notice anything caused me to feel protective of her. She had beautiful lips, just like the rest of her, I realised belatedly. Her eyes, her warm skin, her lavendar scent, everything was perfect. Unlike me. I was the complete opposite of everything she was and stood for. She was innocence, purity. I had the blood of hundreds of people on my hands, including the King's. When the world was made, she was put onto it to make up for my deeds, to balance who I was. Darkness and light...if only there was some way they could mingle.

"What will you be doing after you bring me there?" Lena asked, tilting her head. "Are you there to visit someone, or...?"

I smiled. "I wouldn't answer that question even if I was dead drunk." I rarely got drunk, since most of the time I could hold my liquor. On the one occasion that I did get drunk, however, the Commander had no end of amusement by asking me questions and hearing my silly responses. I winced at the painfully humiliating memory. After that one time, never again did I overexceed my limits. In my job, your life depended on your skill, reflexes, and your silence, all of which became compromised the moment you weren't in your right mind.

My grin died as I realised I would never be able to answer her question. How would I go about telling her that I was there to kill someone? She knew that I was an assassin already, but she had gotten used to the idea, so she wasn't as apprehensive around me like she was before, but I didn't want to risk that.

"When we get there, will you be leaving right after or...?" Something flashed in her eyes. Sadness? Dread?

"Yes." I prevented myself from saying more by wrapping my cloak around myself and laying down on the hard packed dirt. I shut my eyes tightly, hoping that this was all a nightmare that would end as soon as I woke up and became my regular self.

But there was one tiny problem. Did I even I _want_ to become my regular self again? Did I want to go back to being the cold, emotionless man that everyone feared? I was forced to admit that Lena had changed me irrevocably. If this was a dream, I wouldn't want to wake up. I sighed. The only nightmarish thing about this was the fact that I was going to have to leave her forever in a few days, something that I couldn't even think about. I couldn't even comprehend how I had lived before I had met her.

Why now? Why did I have to suddenly feel this way during what was probably one of the most important missions of my life? I didn't ask to feel this way, but here I was.

"Good night, Valek," Lena called out to me from the other side of the dying embers.

"Good night."

* * *

Sorry I haven't updated as fast as I usually have...I have exams at the moment and I was really cramming for them. I'll try to get the next one up soon but no promises. Review are welcome, as always :)


	10. Constellations

Ah, one more chapter that doesn't really have much to add to the plot. Ah well, I just felt like writing this. In any case, this will probably be the last chapter for a long time that will be like this. Important stuff comes next :) so brace yourselves for it

* * *

"This is where we'll stop for the night," Valek announced, placing his pack roughly on the ground and sitting.

I raised an eyebrow. "No trees for shelter, only you and the hard, cold ground?"

He began to shake out his cloak, getting ready for the night. "This is the way that we were meant to sleep, not on excessively cushy pink pillows." He made a face and I laughed, remembering the inn in the border of the Featherstone Clan's lands. Even the exterior of the building had been bright pink and the inside consisted of many cushions made of the same color. The beds had been so soft that when I dropped into one, I had nearly sank to floor level. Valek, being an assassin, was probably not used to all that pink and had been very quiet that evening despite my teasing.

He lay down his cloak and placed his arms behind his head, propping it up. His gaze drifted skywards and lingered there for what seemed to be an eternity.

"What are you looking at?" I asked, cautiously.

"The stars." I waited, but he apparently wasn't going to say anything more.

"May I also come and watch?" I asked after a moment, slightly bashfully.

"Of course." Without warning, he leaned up on an elbow and with one swift yank, I was down next to him. I yelped in surprise.

Slowly, I lay down as far away from him as I could without rolling off his cloak. I noticed that it had a pleasant, musky scent, just like Valek. Since when did I start noticing what he smelled like? Taking a deep breath, I directed my gaze upwards like him and we admired in companionable silence for a few minutes.

The sparkles of white stars filled the night sky like Illias starflowers in a meadow. Which meadow, I could not remember. There was an unerring sense of deja vous, also with me lying next to someone as they pointed out the stars and told me their stories. Was it a family member? A good friend?

I must have made some kind of sound, because Valek turned his head to look at me quizzically. "I remember something," I explained.

He made an impatient noise when I stopped talking. "You remembered what?"

"Looking up at the night stars in an open field with the wind gently drifting past. I still don't know who I was with though. All I know was that they were teaching me about...constellations? And all the stories that came with them."

"Constellations? I know a few." He pointed to a cluster of stars to our left. "That's the Great Snow Cat and that," he pointed above us ," is Geyr the Hunter. I know a few others but they've slipped my mind for the moment."

I frowned. "That's what you call them?"

"You know them by different names?"

"The one you called the Great Snow Cat is actually Yedara, the Betrayed."

"Who the hell is Yedara?" He snorted.

"Don't laugh! She is very important." I raised a hand and tried to smack his forehead with it, but he caught it easily.

"Tell me her story then." He brought my hand down and gently held it in both of his. I was temporarily distracted by how warm and reassuring his fingers were. They traced patterns on my palms and I felt my heart skip a beat.

"Well...um..." I had to clear my throat. "It's a long story, you know."

"We have time. All night, in fact. Until the stars stop shining."

"Long ago, before the mountains were made, there lived a beautiful woman, Yedara, and her husband, Hels."

Valek laughed loudly. "Who comes up with these names?" When I turned to glare at him, he shrugged and nodded for me to continue, turning on his side to look at me while I spoke. His deep blue eyes penetrated the darkness and settled on me with a strange intensity, making it hard for me to concentrate.

"They had a hectic, but wonderful marriage. Each day, they would always argue but by nightfall, all would be right between them once again."

He grinned at that. "I can imagine why."

I ignored him. "But one day, Yedara found Hels with another woman. And that was inexcusable. She ran from him and refused to let him catch her. Hels was furious. The details are blurry but I think that eventually he had her cornered by a cliff and he either pushed her off or she jumped off herself. Then the gods pitied her so they put her up in the sky to honour her as well as to use her to warn other unfortunate women."

"How morbid. Do all your stories end this way?"

I huffed. "Definitely not. There was one about a woman who brained her husband with a soup pot because he was pulling her cat's tail. I forget which constellation that one was attributed to."

"That's a terrible reason for a woman to assault her husband. And with a soup pot, no less. Yedara should have done that instead of getting herself killed."

I turned to look at him, indignant. "_I_ would smash a pot on my husband if he was pulling my cat's tail. Animals should be respected."

He raised his eyebrows. "You would love your cat more than your husband?"

I refused to answer such a ridiculous question. "The husband shouldn't even be tormenting the poor cat in the first place!"

He sighed in exasperation. "I feel sorry for your future husband. Do you remember if you had a pet?"

Hmmm. For some reason the image of valmurs swinging through a thick grove of trees kept flashing through my head but I didn't know if I tried to tame one, or where I saw them. "I might have," I said reluctantly after a pause.

He laughed for a long time. "Poor man."

"Well, I don't have to brain him out if he didn't touch my pet, do I? He'd just have to decide what to give up: his atrocious, not to mention _cruel_ tail pulling habits...or me?"

"Well, if it was me, I'd keep pulling."

I scoffed, sat up abruptly and tried to stand but he prevented me from doing that. "No, don't go, Lena. I didn't mean that. Of course I would choose you."

I froze and stopped breathing. Valek's face was also frozen, as if he'd just realised what he had said. With a curse, he stood and wandered to a slump of weeds a few yards away. I held still, not wanting to disturb him. I also didn't want to contemplate what he meant by that. The answer was dangerous. Very dangerous.

After a long pause, he beckoned for me to join him, his face still turned away from me. He sat before them and stared at them. I looked at the weeds quizically. They looked like any other tenacious and prickly weeds to me. Valek looked up at the sky and peered at the moon. Before I could ask him what he was doing, he put a finger to his lips.

"Watch," he whispered.

That was it. This man was crazy. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. His hand clamped on my wrist, as if he knew that I was contemplating leaving. Sighing, I directed my gaze once again to the stupid weeds. What did it mean? I asked myself. What did he mean by _'of course _I would choose you"? All that I knew was that I was feeling some sort of exasperated frustration. Would he never tell me what he really meant? Why did he always insist on changing the topic whenever our conversation drifted into these situations? The only thing that I could assume was that he either didn't want to believe what he himself had just implied or that he never felt that way for me in the first place.

As the moon moved out from behind some wispy clouds in the sky, the meadow was illuminated with silvery magic. When moonlight fell on the leaves of the weeds, they began to shift. A small bud slowly emerged from the center of each weed and as we watched, it grew and opened to reveal a glowing flower the color of the moon. The blossom let out an intoxicating fragrance, which defied description.

"The Lady of the Night," Valek told me triumphantly.

I was reluctant to respond. When would he get over his denial already? But the name of the flower forcefully extracted a snort of derision of me. "And you said that Yedara was a terrible name."

"It is. What's wrong with Lady of the Night?"

"It sounds like the name of um...a place of...a place with a bad reputation, or a really bad novel."

He sighed, shaking his head at me. "It's not only appreciated for it's beauty, but also for the fact that...never mind. Wait silently without moving for a few minutes and you'll see what I'm talking about."

Despite myself, I was intrigued. We sat side by side in perfect silence and stillness and I found myself observing him. I felt a pang of sadness. When we got to the Citadel, I would have to leave this exasperating man. And even though I didn't understand why, I couldn't help but wish that I didn't have to. When I had found out he was an assassin, I had immediately labeled him as a cocky, and dangerous individual. How wrong I was. If only I had known then that he would be showing me a simple flower with such reverence.

A small fluttering flash of blue flew rapidly past my ear. I forced myself not to flinch, but couldn't help breathing in a sharp breath. As it landed on the flower, I saw that it was a butterfly, and that it was extracting the flower's nectar. Another butterfly, this one pale gold, quickly joined it and soon, Valek and I were sitting amongst a swirl of fluttering wings and beautiful colors. Our gazes met and we continued to look at each other long after the butterflies were gone.

Valek the was one who broke the silence. "We should probably get some rest. We'll probably reach the Citadel tomorrow."

He looked as if he was about to say more but when I waited, he remained silent. So this was probably going to be the last night that I get to see him. The wide meadows didn't seem to contain enough air for me to breathe in. My throat was growing tight and my eyes were burning.

Before I could cry, I pulled off my cloak and lay down, wrapping it snugly around myself. Small sounds told me that Valek was probably doing the same thing. The only reason I was crying, I told myself sternly, was because of nostalgia. After all, he was the first person that I had seen after I woke up and he was the first memory I had. It only made sense that I was growing ever so slightly attached. But once I regained all my memories, all this would change, wouldn't it?

Regardless, I was forced to accept the fact that I didn't want this to change. I felt so carefree being with him, and I didn't want to face any troubles that I might have had in my past life. But why did I feel so different around him? The answer to that question led to an unwelcome conclusion. It terrified me so much, I forced myself into a deep slumber.

* * *

:)


	11. Alone

Disclaimers apply :)

* * *

"Well, this is it," Valek said, stopping with me outside the gates of the Keep.

While we had been travelling through the Citadel, he had told me that this was the place that I needed to be, the place that was best for me, even though I didn't understand why yet. I trusted him, even though I desperately didn't want to and had agreed to let him take me here. Now, outside the closed, intimidating marble gates, I quaked. On second thought, did I _want_ to get my memories back? What if I was some kind of murderess or cutthroat and having my memories back would make me kill more people?

Valek gripped my hand, making me jump a little. He then held it reassuringly, between both his own. "You'll be fine," he told me, as if he had read my mind. "This is what you wanted, isn't it? You'll be able to learn about your magic here, and regain your memories, hopefully."

"What magic?" I asked, horrified. Didn't I have enough problems to deal with already?

"You were travelling as a student to the Keep before Janco...er, made a slight miscalculation. "

"_And you didn't tell me?" _I screeched.

"The evidence was right in front of you," he countered. "Your letter of admission to the Keep was in your bag all along, you just didn't see it, or read it."

I made myself calm down. After all, this was the last time I would ever be able to see him. Assassins always travelled in the night, as far as I had heard, and didn't stay in one place for too long. There was little to no chance that we would ever encounter one another again, in this lifetime, at least.

Now I had trouble breathing. The thought of losing this man, the first memory that I had, made me panic. I also didn't know what to do without him. How would I be able to progress with my life normally as if nothing had happened without him? It would probably hurt me a lot, beyond what I had every experienced before.

"It will be alright," Valek told me, smiling at me quzizically. "You'll do fine in this place. From what I hear, most of the magically gifted in Sitia come here to get their training. You're going to be in good hands."

How was I going to explain that that didn't have anything to do with what I was feeling at the moment? How could I explain to this man, who was probably going to forget about me in a week? I stared down at the ground and willed myself not to cry.

"I'll be closer that you think," Valek murmured, then immediately looked like he was sorry he had said that.

What did he mean by that? I stared up at him, trying to memorize what his face looked like.

Valek looked as if he wanted to say more, but instead, quickly leaned in towards me. I could feel his lips press against my forehead, and my eyes closed. When they opened again, Valek was gone, replaced by a shallow gust of cool wind and the flickering shadows of a nearby tree branch.

And all I had left of him was a handful of crushed rose petals.

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Valek POV:

"You finally got here!" my associate exclaimed in annoyance. "You are over three days late and I've had to make up countless excuses for you! Do you have any idea how incredulous First Magician was when I told her that you probably had to help your mother weed your garden before you came here?"

I chuckled. "Doran, nobody told you to say that. If you're going to lie, at least do it convincingly."

Doran was the worst liar that I had ever worked with. As a rule, I tended to either hire skilled liars or at least train them well enough to fool at least 90% of criminals. But with him, it was a very difficult task, almost an unachieveable one. His stories verged on the impossible and yet most people went along with what he had said. Perhaps it was because of his cautious and genuinely warm smile that made so many people around him like and trust him. I would have to look into that one day.

He sighed and sat down on a nearby decorative rock, rubbing his face with his hands. "I thought it sounded good at the time. After all, you are a gardener. And what good son wouldn't help out his mother from time to time?"

I could feel my brief amusement drain away like the last drops of rain in a desert well. I avoided thinking about my family, whenever possible. Too many memories, too much pain. And I couldn't have any distractions if I wanted this mission to be a success.

Speaking of distractions...Lena's face kept flashing across my mind. I couldn't seem to stop thinking about her. Was she afraid right now? Was she safe? Did she need me? I regretted not having distanced myself from her long before now. I couldn't afford to be attached, nor could anyone in my profession. It was the number one rule: Keep emotionless and detached, no matter what happens. If only it was as easy as it sounded.

Doran didn't seem to notice my strange mood, or at least didn't comment on it, for which I was grateful for. "Here, Valek. Your trusty spade and shovel. If you need more equipment, it's all in that red shed over there by the gate. And oh, before I forget, your new name is Leo."

I took what he gave me, trying to focus on what he was telling me. Damn, why did I have to feel his way _now_? On one of the most important missions of my life?

Distracted as I was, I still caught the end of that sentence. "My name is Leo?"

"Yup. Hope you like it." Doran shot a nervous glance at me. "If you don't, just know that it was the best I could come up with under those circumstances. Roze Featherstone is not someone that you have a friendly, casual conversation with." Shaking his head, and letting out a gusty breath, he turned and went to the other end of the manicured lawn, heading for the shed that he had pointed out.

Leo...Leo...Where had I heard that name before? I straightened immediately as I realised that it was one of the constellations that I had forgotten to mention to Lena. I could already tell that it was going to be one of those little details that persisted in plaguing you, no matter how insignificant it was. I gritted my teeth. It seemed that no matter what happened, I could not get her out of my mind.

My situation got worse when I turned and saw some rosebushes. Some _red_ rosebushes, to be exact. Was some sort of higher being punishing me for all the lives that I had taken? If I didn't stop myself, I would soon be convincing myself to sneak a peek at her, hoping she wouldn't notice me when I did. My eyes widened. And now that that idea had popped into my brain, I couldn't get it out again. Wonderful. Just wonderful.

* * *

Yelena POV

Pounding on the heavy marble gates, I yelled for the guards to open up. After a while, clanging ensued as the heavy bolts and locks were taken care of. The door slid open smoothly and silently, as if the hinges had just been oiled.

"Who're you?" The guard that poked his head out through the crack stared at me in curiosity.

I felt intimidated. What if Valek was wrong? "I'm one of the new students at the Keep."

"Where's your letter?" The guard harrumphed as I searched for it and handed it to him. How had I not noticed it in my bag before? He scrutinised it, as if he _wanted_ to get me in trouble. He sighed, probably in sadness, when he realised there was nothing wrong with it. "Come on in. Do you have anyone with you?"

"I did...but he left." I must have sounded sad, because the guard patted my arm reassuringly and led me inside.

Once in, I could do nothing but stare in awe. The buildings there also appeared to be made of costly polished marble, with no cracks. I marveled at the size of every structure, wondering how the builders managed to construct the walls without making cracks to piece together individual pieces of marble.

The guard chuckled. "Beautiful, isn't it? I never get tired of seeing it."

"Um...is there somewhere that I should go?"

The guard looked at me quizically. "Don't you know? Go to the government building to be registered and they'll send you someoen to take you to your rooms. It's that way."

I managed to smile at him. "Thank you,...er..."

"Cahil. Cahil Ixia."

Ixia? Visions of snow and glaciers passed before my eyes. Where was that place? Dazed, I went in the direction he pointed at and once I went inside, I felt as if I were being assaulted. There were probably dozens of people inside, all hard at work, and the amount of people there caused me to feel very small. I had never been around this many people before, at least, not since I had forgotten everything.

A petite, blond woman came along and laid her hand reassuringly on my arm. "Are you looking for someone?" she asked kindly.

"Um...no. I just need to be registered. I'm one of the new students." I fumbled with my words, overcome by the noise and commotion.

"That's fine. Follow me, please."

She then led me into a small room branching out from the main chamber. A man there asked me questions. What was my name? Lena. What clan was I in? I don't know. Where was the letter the Keep had sent out?

Sighing in relief at being able to give him that at least, I pulled it out and watched nervously as he examined it.

"You were supposed to give me your whole name, not a nickname." The man scowled in consternation.

"But...that _was_ my whole name."

"Well, according to this letter, your full name is Yelena Liana Zaltana. You are part of Zaltana clan, eh? Plenty of special powers there..."

I felt my expression go blank as a blinding burst of pain exploded within my head. Bright, harsh colours swam in front of my eyes and I felt as if the air had been sucked out of the room. The floor felt as if it was tipping and turning like I was on board a ship in a storm. Yelena Liana Zaltana...and then everything went black.

* * *

Hey, I'm really sorry about not updating The Assassin's Second for quite a while. I am currently trying to work around a writer's block for that story. :(


	12. Regained

:D

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Valek POV:

I felt highly uncomfortable. The head gardener's daughter, Marie, had been following me around these last couple of days. When she spoke to me, her voice sounded strange, as if she was trying to make it sound more high pitched than it usually did. She always somehow managed to find a spot to work beside me and while we pulled out weeds, she would always make some small talk. Of course, I would have preferred not to form any attachments and to keep silent, but courtesy forced me to return some of her banter. She had recently began batting her eyelashes at me while smiling with her head tilted coquettishly. I was beginning to feel a sense of dread, not unlike that of a mouse that knows it's about to be cornered by the cat. I'm the one who usually makes others feel like that!

I frowned down at my gloves. I was an assassin, but that didn't mean that I had any idea how to act around women when they were like this. Marie was currently only 2 rows of plants away, planting new seeds like I was. She looked up at me with that smile on her face again and I groaned internally. Why did my job have to be so hard?

"So...Leo." She winked. "You're really strong. Nobody can dig like you because of those muscles of yours."

I closed my eyes momentarily, wishing strongly for the company of Lena. Actually, I would prefer anyone's company to her. "Marie, we have to finish this patch before lunch. Let's hurry."

She pouted, sticking out her very pink bottom lip. Not at all like Lena's. Lena's were more full, and more soft. Lips that I could...

"Leo, don't you want to ask me something?" Marie interrupted my thinking.

I blinked up at her, in confusion. "Ask you what?"

"Well, there's going to be a celebratory dinner at the Keep soon. One that the teachers and students will be attending. Any staff are also welcome."

I nodded slowly. Of course I had already found out about this. I was spying in on the meeting while the Masters and some senior students planned it. Apparently, it was a yearly event held to allow students to get aquainted with their new teachers before classes started again. What this had to do with Marie, I had no idea.

Marie continued. "I was so sure that you were going to ask me to go with you!" She shot me a glance out of the corner of her eye, batting even more enthusiastically. "In fact, I would just _die_ of embarrassment if you weren't!"

Before I could inform this misguided girl that I was not planning to go, much less with her, I heard the crunch of boots stamping crisp soil behind me. Standing up, I face a younger man, in the uniform of one of the Keep's guards. He seemed absolutely furious.

"Keep your filthy hands off my girl, do you hear me!" he yelled accusingly, stabbing a finger towards me. I batted his hand away easily and pondered the situation. Obviously, I had to avoid making a scene, if I wanted to blend in with the rest of the gardeners.

"I wasn't planning on touching her or anything else," I said in an even, low voice. "You can have her and keep her."

"Don't you dare talk about my Marie like some piece of trash to be handled around!" The guard didn't seemed pacified at all like I had intended him to be. I sighed. Some people picked fights just for the hell of doing it, but I wasn't one of them.

I was about to try again before his fist came flying towards me. Acting on instinct, I ducked an reltaliated. That was a wrong move. What I _should_ have done was to keep on evading him and restrain him when I got the chance. But instead, I had been a victim of habit. After practising with and pummeling all the soldiers at the castle, every time someone decided to attack, I returned the favour twofold.

My fist hit is stomach with a _thud, _driving the wind out of him. He staggered back, but his fury made him stronger than ever before. He took a wild swing, missing me completely. As he recovered from that, I came to him from behind and stunned both his arms. And in case he decided to swipe at me with his legs, I tripped him. I then pinned him to the floor, not caring if I was making a scene. The man had to learn some self-restraint somehow and anyways, even my patience had limits. This whole episode had taken less than a minute to unfold.

"Listen to me," I said through gritted teeth. "She's the one that's been hounding me these past few days. I never asked for any of this."

He wheezed out a laugh despite my tight grip. "I know your type. Always trying to pick up as many girls as they can before they become senile."

I was actually speechless for a second. Me? A womanizer? "You have no idea what you're talking about," I told him, dazed.

The sound of a pair of hands clapping came from behind me. I let him go, releasing him and giving him a final push. Whirling around, I stood to face the elderly man in front of me.

"Bravo. Leo...is it? Who would have known that a gardener possessed such skills?" Bain Bloodgood, Second Magician regarded me with interest.

As Janco would have said, _holy snow cats_. Of course I would have had the misfortune to have someone watching, and of all people, it had to be a Master. Luckily, I always put on makeup to disguise myself as well as to darken my skin so there was no way he would know it was me...unless he felt the strange blank space in the blanket of magic. I would have to get out of here as soon as possible to avoid that from happening.

"Yes, sir." I kept my head bowed, like any other humble gardener of the Keep when a Master had decided to speak to them.

"Don't worry. You're not to be punished for this at all. Your record has been spotless, whereas his..." Bain shook his head in wonder as he watched the guard and his Marie retreat. "In fact, the Keep is one Weapons Master short this year. We usually have at least five teachers, one for each year, but the apprentices need a teacher after the old one decided to run off in the summer."

Of course I couldn't accept the offer. But when Bain saw the look of impending refusal on my face, he cut in. "That was not an offer, young man. It would have been, before we were so desperate. But now, I'm afraid you must take up the post. For the good of all the apprentices."

To refuse and leave would make more of a scene than it was already. And Bain and I both knew that if I decided to turn down his offer, I would be fired. I couldn't risk that, especially since I was on a very important mission. But on the other hand...what if Lena was in that class? After travelling with me for so long, I felt almost sure that she would recognize me on the spot. But since I saw her with a letter of invitation to the Keep, that meant that she must be just starting the curriculum, even if she was as old as the other apprentices. Either way, I would have to worry about that later. Right now I had to secure my position.

"I'll do it." I finally told Bain. He grinned widely in satisfaction and told me to take the rest of the day off, and that I had to be at the training yards an hour after sunrise the day after the dinner banquet. Trudging to my small room in the servants quarters, I fell onto my bed and stared up at the ceiling. Maybe this was a good thing, getting closer to the students. That way, I cant determine who the Soulfinder is more quickly and hopefully make it a short mission, so that I could return home more quickly.

Home...where was home? Did I even have one? I hadn't really belonged anywhere since the catastrophe that had occured when I was thirteen. Groaning, I closed my eyes for a second and found myself falling asleep.

* * *

Yelena POV:

That annoying tapping noise was still there. I had been aware of it shortly after I had been brought to this cool, calming and quiet room, what I supposed was the medics room. It sped up when I took in a deep breath and stirred and then slowed back down when I became still again. I couldn't believe that I was amusing myself at a time like this by doing this childish thing.

What had happened? All I knew was that the mention of my name, Yelena Liana Zaltana, had caused me to faint. It was almost like the time that I had fainted due to the loss of my memories. Maybe now, they had returned! My breathing sped up in my excitement and the tapping noise became more agitated once more. Let's see...what did I know?

Digging into the most inner reaches of my mind, I asked the fundamental questions. Who was I? A part of the Zaltana clan, sent to the Keep to gain control of my newfound powers. What happened? I had met a man named Kelav that had insisted on escorting me here, despite my rejection of him. Then, as we had been passing through a forest, something had hit me on the head and that had caused me to lose my memories.

I had then woken up in a cabin somewhere and the first person that I had seen was...Valek? Valek and Kelav were one and the same? Why the hell would he feel the need to tell me a fake name in the first place? And where had I heard that name before? There was some sort of unsavoury gossip attached to it, but I couldn't be bothered to think of it at the moment. I had to concentrate on what had happened. After that, he had taken me here, after a few misadventures and I had inadvertently fallen in love with..._what_? I shook myself mentally. I had then heard the registration secretary tell me my real name, rather than the fake one I had given Kelav...er, Valek and then I had ended up here. There. Not confusing at all.

Satisfied with myself, I decided to open my eyes. Leif sat there, brooding, and his eyes immediately lit up when he saw that I was awake.

"Yelena! Do you have any idea how worried I was?" he exclaimed.

"Funny, this would have never happened if you had left with me." I said this fondly, but it was true.

His face filled with guilt and I felt sorry for having hoisted the blame on him. Surely, I could have been more sensible...

"It's alright," I said hastily. "I had to travel here and grow up some time."

His face was still troubled, so I changed the topic. "So...do you have a room for me to stay in while I'm learning about my powers?" I asked lightly.

For some reason, his face furrowed further and an expression of pure fear flashed across his face. What didn't I know?

"Yelena...," he said slowly, and then cut himself off. He stood up briskly and kissed me on the forehead before saying goodbye, telling me that he would arrange a spot for me to stay. Laying on the lumpy bed, I thought of Valek. I missed him so much...and I would never see him again. If only he would visit me one day...but I couldn't tell myself that. Getting my hopes up would prove to be a dangerous thing to do.

* * *

Tada! She finally gets everything back! Now to iron out all the problems she has left...

Review please :)


	13. Valek in Mind

Chapter 13

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Yelena POV

Sitting on my small bed, located under a decent sized window, I brooded. Leif had introduced me to my new teacher, Fourth Magician and I was surprised that one of the Masters would actually take students. When I had asked them about this, they had exchanged uneasy looks and changed the topic hurriedly.

Why had Valek decided to tell me that his name was Kelav? Or was Kelav his real name? I didn't know but I decided to stick to Valek, since that name somehow sounded familiar. It probably wasn't such a coincidence, seeing as he was an assassin and all. I probably heard it somewhere in the market. Even amateur assassins got some attention. What I hadn't counted on was this feeling of betrayal. I couldn't believe that Valek would just purposely not even tell me anything about being a student at the Keep. He didn't seem as the dishonourable type of man...but then, how well did I know him? Not very, but the fact that I cared enough to feel betrayed...well, that was best not thought about.

I had to accept the fact that while he was nice while he was around, he was now simply gone from my life. Our paths would never cross again, and I shouldn't be spending my time brooding about him. I had more important things to do, like not getting killed while I was here. The Keep had some pretty nasty students that did not tolerate outsiders. On the other hand, there were a few people that were kind. Fourth Magician, my brother, that lady at the administration office...Cahil?

That was worth thinking about. There were plenty of men at home that had noticed me, but I had felt nothing for them. In fact, the only person which I had actually begun to fall for was..._No, Yelena. Dangerous ground._ It would be good for me to at least get to know Cahil better. Who knows? I could probably grow to have feelings for him.

Now if only I could bring up the courage to throw away the rose petals that I had placed in a preserving jar on my bedroom table...

* * *

Irys POV

Yelena. Soulfinder. Seeing the young woman in front of me, I had trouble connecting the two concepts. She didn't look as if she could use her magic to harm someone, much less raise the dead. No matter how much I wanted to, I didn't tell her about who she was. Not yet, I wouldn't. I had to teach her about the great responsibilities that came from wielding magic before I could so much as mention the word to her.

The reason that the students are taught magical history at the Keep was because they needed to learn from the mistakes of the past. The last Soulfinder had destroyed so much, and after rebuilding the glory of Sitia once again, I would not stand by and see it happen again. I would have to learn to trust Yelena, and to teach her how to use her power for good because that was probably where the last Soulfinder's teachers had gone wrong. I still hadn't told the other Masters about Yelena yet. I couldn't for her safety. Roze would order her execution right away, and her word held a lot of influence in the Sitian Council. Bain would debate the positives and negatives of having a Soulfinder work for Sitia and in the end, would probably agree with Roze. As for Zitora...even if she backed me, she was too new of a Master to have any influence on these major decisions. For now, I would just have to weather this alone.

Yelena had proven to be a very good student. I had never taught one of the students before and had been quite apprehensive about it. What if the student decided not to listen to me? I'd have no idea on how to get them to. Fortunately, that situation had never happened. Yelena was very attentive and had done everything that I had asked her to with a promising determination. She was very competent when it came to mental magic and could read others thoughts, feelings and influence what they did, which was typical of a Soulfinder. However, when I asked to to light a fire, the only thing that she had been able to do was to compel _me_ to do it. Figures.

There was one quite disturbing episode that happened during the first day of lessons. I had tested her on most of the things and had learned about where her strengths were as well as what she could do. Then I came up with the idea that instead of just reading my thoughts and even sending me her own, she should conjure up a picture and project it into my mind so that even I could see.

"What should I envision?" Yelena had asked perplexedly. We were sitting on some cushions on the floor of my tower. She shifted in confusion.

"Anything. The picture doesn't really matter. However, if you want more of a challenge, try a face of someone you know, since features are often hard to picture and keep in place."

"Alright." Closing her eyes in concentration, Yelena began to envision an image. Her breathing grew deeper and a furrow appeared between her eyebrows. She stayed still for so long that I was convinced that she couldn't do it and was about to make her stop.

Then, suddenly, the most frightening image in all my years of being a Master Magician appeared in my mind's eye. _Valek._ The legendary assassin and the most feared man in Ixia and especially Sitia. I had never come face to face with him on my missions before, but I had learned to both respect and fear his abilities. But what was even more frightening was the fact that this young woman knew what he looked like. Not many people could pinpoint his features, especially since he was always disguised when he was out of the castle.

But for her to see his face so clearly...he must have made some contact with her. Then a startling thought hit me like a blow. _Was he here to kill her?_ I had to know how Yelena had gotten to know him. I doubted that she knew who he was and what he was capable of...Yelena wouldn't be that dumb to still stick around with him after that. Yet, the most disturbing thought of all...when Yelena had sent me that image, there were no negative feelings that came with it. Instead, I could feel through our mental link that...she missed him? There was definitely longing...and something else...Snake spit! Yelena needed to know who he was before she did anything rash, if she hadn't already.

* * *

Yelena POV

I sat there, stunned. When Fourth Magician, Irys, had told me to send her an image of someone or something, I had no idea what to do. A red rose, perhaps? Or the image of me being rescued from a rushing current? No matter what, my thoughts all led back to Valek. But I couldn't send her an image of his face! He was an assassin, and even though he wasn't really well known and an amateur still, I couldn't blow his cover like that.

A red rose it was, then. I firmly fixed the picture of the rose that he had given me in my head, the petals still fresh and full of vibrant colour. Just as I sent the image to Irys, however, it change. The rose was suddenly replaced with Valek's face. His striking blue eyes and sharp features that I had somehow memorized during that short span of time. I froze. What did I just do?

Irys sat still for a long time. I noticed that her breathing had accelerated as if she was frightened. Snake spit! Why was I always getting into these situations? She didn't move for so long that I considered shaking her to see if she was alright. Finally, she looked up, and the expression in her eyes caused me to freeze and stop breathing.

"Yelena...do you know who this person is and what he is capable of?" Irys asked in an ominous voice.

"Um..." Was this my chance to give her some false information in hopes that she would just drop the topic? "I met him while travelling, but we soon parted ways. I don't know his name and I don't even know why I was thinking of him at all."

Her eyes narrowed at me. "Don't lie, Yelena. This is a dangerous man. If you don't know what or who he is...I fear that you are in deep danger."

A chill ran down my spine. I simply refused that believe that Valek would...that he would...

As I spoke, my voice grew hoarse with fear. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Irys sighed suddenly, exhaling a sharp gust of air. She scrutinised me face very carefully. "This man is _Valek_. "

I nodded cautiously. I already knew that...so?

"And he is an assassin." Irys raised her eyebrows at me, expecting a reaction, but I merely nodded again. I had also known that, although to be honest, he didn't seem like much of an assassin to me.

Irys leapt forward and shook me. "Don't you understand? This isn't just any random assassin that we're talking about, this is _Valek_ the most feared man in Sitia! ...And probably Ixia too," she added as an afterthought.

I froze. The images of ice, snow and fear all whirled around in my mind. "He...he wouldn't happen to be the man that assassinated the King and the royal family, would he?" I said through pale lips.

Irys examined my face, and seemed satisfied with my shock. "Yes, he is. And that is why I am very concerned on how you came to know him."

The truth came tumbling out from the prison of my mind. "I met him while I was travelling here. He didn't hurt me, and helped me come here while I lost my memories. And when we arrived, he left. I don't know where he is now."

Irys closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. I waited in anticipation. "Be on guard at all times," she finally said. "I will assign a group of guards to follow you to your classes and to the market, if you choose to go."

"No!" I wouldn't be able to stand being trailed by a couple of people everywhere I went. That would seem like I was a true prisoner.

Irys turned away and went down the stairs, leaving me alone in the room. "You're dismissed," she called, her voice echoing up the staircase eerily.

I sat back and stared down at my hands, twisted tightly together in my stress. Betrayal was flooding me as well as a deep, scalding anger, and I had no idea why. Why would Valek mislead me like that? True, he had given me fair warning that he was an assassin, even though if it wasn't immediate, but who could blame him for that? And he was justified in keeping his real name from me in the beginning. After all, his infamy would draw in enemies from miles around.

But he hadn't told me about what he had done. With my memory gone, there was no way for me to connect the name Valek with the King and the takeover of Ixia. Even with my memories returned to me, I had still had trouble connecting the pieces together.

I shook my head to clear it. In any case, he was gone and I had to move on. I bounded out of the tower and took in a deep breath of summer air. The cooling season would begin soon and I smiled at that. My birthday would also come along, and I would be turning 20.

I was still in a good mood when I bumped into Cahil at the stables. "What are you doing here?" I called out to him.

He grinned and ran his hand through his already tousled hair. "I work here."

"Aren't you a guard?" I approached him and leaned on the fence as I watched him tame one of the more mischievous horses.

"I am, but mostly I spend my free time here helping the Stable Master. You see, I grew up here and I've always felt fond of this place." He smiled down at the now docile horse and smoothed her mane. "It's like a second home to me."

"I know how you feel...I miss the jungle already," I said wistfully. I also missed my parents and the support they would have provided if they had been here.

"So, how is it there? I bet you have lots of admirers," he teased. Or at least, I thought he was teasing. It was rather hard to tell.

He burst out laughing at my silence. "I was right then? I'm not surprised." He looked at me admiringly. "Say, would you put aside your hordes of admirers for one night to come with me to the banquet tomorrow? You'd get to meet your teachers and fellow students...and of course, you'll have my company all evening."

I hesitated. Why not? This would be the first step to getting rid of Valek. "Sure," I said airily. "Shall we meet at the gardens outside the dining room?"

He nodded and threw me another grin as he towed a rebellious colt away from its mother. I turned my back and began to walk away without any sense of where I was going. A prick of guilt blotted my conscious but I quickly brushed it away. After all, Valek had shown no qualms at deserting me in this place alone.

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Ok. I am officially at a dead end at my other story, the Assassin's Second. I would welcome any ideas people might have...:)

I will also begin updating the Assassin's Secretary. Grammar, spelling, .etc.

Please review and tell me what you think!


	14. A Dinner Banquet

Chapter 14

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Valek POV:

Tonight was the banquet at the Keep. I groaned as I tugged on a dress shirt that molded to my body uncomfortably and black pants which I rather liked. Yesterday, Second Magician had burst into my quarters and told me that I had to attend, no matter how much I disliked these sort of affairs. I would have to meet my future students and introduce myself.

Hello, my name is Leo the dunce, nicely arrayed in this valmur suit.

I could just see myself being the laughingstock of everyone here. Normally, I wouldn't care that much, but Dorin was going to be there. He had promised me that he was going to be there, if for no other reason than to see me in this itchy attire. Oh, if the servants at the castle could see me now, scratching every few seconds like I had fleas. Which I did not.

These were all trivial things though. What I really worried about was the fact that Lena was going to be there. I wouldn't be able to go anywhere near her and I would have to take extra precautions for her not to see and recognize me. Of course, I would have disguising makeup on, but since she had travelled with me for such a long period of time, she would have gotten to know how I looked intimately and so would know who I was without any trouble. Which posed a big problem.

I would have to come up with a very tricky strategy to somehow do my duty and go around meeting my students as well as avoiding her. Since this was a dinner banquet with dancing, I doubted that I could succeed. I would tell Second Magician that I was sick or something, but I couldn't risk my job. For once in my life, I was at a loss on what to do.

After an hour of worrying, I decided to do what I had never considered doing before: just going to the banquet and act spontaneously, without any forethought. I would probably regret this tomorrow.

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Yelena POV:

I squirmed into the silk dress that I had bought at the market two days ago. It hugged my curves and showed off my petite figure to an advantage. It was blue, and fell to the ground in rippling waves that reminded me of the sea. And maddeningly, Valek.

But I pushed that out of my mind as I went to meet with Cahil. Peeking around the corner, I could see that he looked very handsome in a sophisticated coat with many medals. As I approached him, I saw his mouth fall open in awe. Good.

"So many medals," I commented as we walked to the dining area. "Were you part of the army?"

He peered at me. "In a way." He paused the frowned. "I guess you could say that I am the head of my own army."

Now it was my turn to frown. "What are you talking about?"

"I am the Prince of Ixia. Valek murdered my uncle and the rest of the royal family...or so he thought. He forgot to count the bodies, and fortunately, I was smuggled here until I became ready to take back what is rightfully mine." He saw my appalled expression and made a face. "I know, I'm sorry. No more of this tonight, I promise." He led me inside and my senses were quickly overwhelmed by the music and noise that came with a room jammed with around 1000 people.

On the contrary, I wanted to hear more about Valek but I sense that this was not the right time to interrogate Cahil about it. And besides, wasn't I with Cahil to forget about him? I forced a smile onto my face and looped my arm through his.

Irys soon approached us with a drink in hand. "I'm so glad you came, Yelena," she shouted over the loudness. "Would you like me to take you to see your fighting teacher and your riding teacher?"

Cahil popped his head between us and stuck out his other hand to me. "Hello, Yelena. I am your new riding teacher."

I started. "What? I thought you were just a guard that was really interested in horses."

"Well, I'm that too, but I'll also be teaching all the apprentices this year on how to ride." He turned to Irys. "She will be counted as one of them, right?"

"She'll be in classes of all levels based on what she knows already and her skill level, but yes, she is an apprentice."

"Excellent!" Cahil turned to me, his pale blue eyes enthusiastic. "I have no doubt that we will have fun together."

Somehow, the way he said that made me squirm uncomfortably. What did he mean by that?

But before I could think about that further, Irys tugged me away into the crowds, to the consternation of Cahil. He frowned after us and I waved helplessly at him. Irys was a force of nature when she became determined.

The weapons teacher had his back to us, as he was talking to some other students. Judging by the looks on the older girls' faces, I gathered that he was more handsome than most men. I could see that his molded dress shirt showed off his muscles to perfection and that...What was I thinking about?

I pulled back, reluctant to speak to him. With all that attention, he was probably a real jerk, like most of the men in the jungle and I had no desire to get my hopes up only to have them thrown back in my face. He probably had all the female attention he needed already. Immediately, I felt guilty for even feeling that spark of attraction. It somehow felt like I was betraying Valek, which was inconceiveable because I hadn't even made any promises to him to start with.

Irys tugged at me arm impatiently. "What are we waiting for?" she hissed.

"I...I don't feel so well," I lied unconvincingly. "I need to sit down and have a drink of water."

Irys let go of me and turned to face me, her hands on her hips. "What's wrong, Yelena? The man won't bite."

"No, I won't." The rich tones of the voice carried easily over the loud confusion surrounding me. I froze.

My mind raced so fast that I came to a conclusion, even though I had no idea how I got there. My conclusion? I was obviously sick and hallucinating.

"Yelena?" I heard Irys asked in a voice that sounded distant to the blood rushing past my ears. "Yelena?"

Before I could react, I felt a warm hand closing around my wrist. I stiffened, but didn't shake him off.

"It's alright, I'll take her to a quiet corner outside," I heard the arms teacher tell Irys.

What was wrong with me? Obviously I had been thinking about Valek for far too long. So long, in fact, that I had begun to think that the arms teacher, was in fact, Valek himself. Which...was impossible, right? An assassin wouldn't stay in the Keep of all places. It would only be a matter of time before he got caught.

I leaned forward so that my face was cast in shadow and my hair covered it like a silk curtain of waves. The arms teacher gently led me outside, away from the cacophony, into a secluded area of the garden, a clearing with a stone bench in the middle that was surrounded by trees with pale pink blossoms. The air was filled with the scent of roses and cherry blossoms and I took in a deep breath.

I kept my head bowed as I seated myself. The man remained standing. I couldn't dare to look up and examine his face. What if it was him? What if it wasn't him?

"Would you like me to bring you a glass of water?" asked the man. His smooth voice sounded both concerned and yet, slightly amused. It was exactly as I had remembered it and it still had the same effect on me that it had then. I felt my breathing escalate.

"Are you alright?" he asked, his voice much more concerned now. Before I could stop him, I felt him slowly and gently tilt my face up to his. Sapphire blue eyes looked back into mind, piercing deep into me.

I flinched. He swore and walked away from me and then came back after a few tense moments.

"Lena, why the hell did this have to happen?" he demanded. It didn't sound like he wanted an answer so I remained silent. I was still on shock. There was no explainable reason on why he would remain here. He definitely wouldn't do it for me so...

I felt my face drain of blood. "Why are _you_ here?" I pulled on his arm to make him face me again. "Who...who are you going to kill?"

His eyes became splinters of ice and his face sharp. "That's none of your concern. If you know what's best for you, you'll stay out of this."

"I can't just stand by and see someone..._die_." I glared back at him.

He sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "Well, the person might not be here...he or she might not even exist. In fact, I'm all but convinced that the information that I've been given is false, so you can relax."

I slumped down on my seat again. A brisk cool breeze blew by, making me shiver in my dress. Valek looked at me in concern and then sat down beside me, pulling me towards him and tucking me against his warm body. Instantly, I relaxed and closed my eyes. He was so warm and he was rubbing my bare arm in an attempt to bring back some heat. I had the overwhelming urge to wrap my arms around his body, but I resisted it. The fact that he had been sent here by someone to kill just proved how dangerous he was. Definitely not someone I wanted to get involved with. I got into enough trouble on my own already.

"Do you still have trouble remembering everything?" I heard him ask. He had rested his chin on my hair and I breathed in his wonderful musky scent. For the first time since I came to the Keep, I smiled a genuine smile.

"What if I do?" I asked. I wanted to know why he didn't tell me he had met me before my memories had disappeared.

"I would tell you what happened," he said simply. I flinched. I hadn't been expecting that.

"As it happens, I remember _everything_," I said, emphasizing the word. "Including the fact that you didn't say a word."

He shrugged, unconcerned. "So Lena wasn't your real name," he said, changing the subject with a practised smoothness. "Wise of you not to tell me that from the start."

I elbowed him in the ribs. ""It's not like you didn't do the same thing, you hypocrite," I accused.

"Ah, but my real name eventually came up." He sounded rather smug, like a mouse that had succeeded in evading the cat.

That only made me sit still. During our conversation, I hadn't noticed, but now I saw Cahil standing by the entrance of the dining room, staring at us. I immediately pushed Valek away and stood up.

Valek stood up as well as glanced in his direction. "Is that your...friend?" he asked, something dark in his voice.

By this time, Cahil started to walk towards us and stopped a few feet away. He nodded stiffly at Valek, a flash of animosity in his eyes. "Yelena, allow me to escort you back inside." Cahil then extended his hand. It was an offering that I could either accept or reject. It was clear that the future would depend upon this one moment.

Before I could force my muddled mind to make this crucial decision, Valek cut in. "Your services won't be necessary," he told Cahil smoothly. "I'll bring Yelena back to her room; she feels tired."

I opened my mouth to protest being spoken for before I was tugged along, away from Cahil for the second time that night. He glared back at us, with an expression of stark hatred on his face. A chill ran down my back as I realised that it wasn't directed at me, but at Valek. I hadn't expected for Cahil to be so...possessive, which would prove to be a big problem since he was my new riding teacher.

Valek pushed me into a dark, secluded room on an abandoned wing of the main building. He pushed me gently against the wall and braced an arm over my head against the wall, blocking any escape routes that I might have had. His body pressed against mine, silencing me with shock. My breathing escalated as he leaned in closer.

"Now," he said darkly. "Let's finish our conversation."

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I brought Valek here! Yay! Happy? :)

I also writing the other story at the moment, if all goes well, it should be up soon...hopefully.

Review, review, review!


	15. Tears of Irises

Since everyone wants fluff, I guess I'll put in some. :)) I find it extraordinarily hard to write fluff, so be easy on me! :O

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Yelena POV:

My heart beat as rapidly as valmurs back home swung from tree to tree. Valek was so close...and for once, he didn't seem to be holding himself back.

His lips were and eighth of an inch away from mine, and as he breathed, I felt the warm air sweep against my lips. His hands moved from the wall on either sides of my head to my body. One encircled my waist, pulling me tight against his body. The other gently tipped up my chin to face him.

Warm candlelight from the banquet somehow seeped in through the window and lit up his blue eyes. I had always thought that blue eyes were cold, as it they were made of ice, and diamonds. I had never imagined that blue could also be like the sky on a warm summer's night. He looked at me very carefully, as if absorbing every detail laid before him.

It was suddenly impossible to breath or move. Valek leaned in closer and his lips just brushed my neck. It was more of just a touch than a kiss, but I felt as if I were melting then and there. Instead of kissing me again, he tucked me under the chin and held me securely against him. I closed my eyes and sighed; it was ridiculous how at home I felt with him. Absloutely ridiculous, considering who he was and what he does. Did.

"Did you miss me?" I asked in a small voice. I instantly berated myself for opening my stupid mouth. What if he said no? The truth was, I had been hurting ever since he had left, and seeing him again was like a cool drink after a long afternoon in the desert. As if he was ..._necessary. _For some reason, I felt tears prick my eyes and I struggled not to let them fall. I had thought he had just decided to leave me...

He laughed softly and pulled away to look at me. "What do _you_ think?"

"What was I supposed to think when you just left me like that?" A tear slowly rolled dowm my cheek.

He shook his head at me slowly, his smile fading. "I've told you, I'm an assassin and...I can't." His voice was full of regret, but I found it so difficult to believe. He was a killer, of all things, so how could I trust him? I should have taken Irys' advice, but now it was too late.

_Why are you here?_ I wanted to ask. _When am I going to wake up to find one of my friends dead?_ But I didn't. This wasn't the time to put voice to my greatest fears, or the place. Irys' warning about him came too late. I was already in love with him and it was impossible to stop. I didn't know exactly how it had happened. Was it when he rescued me from the rapid currents of that river? Or was it when he danced with me at that wedding?

I closed my eyes against more tears. I couldn't let myself cry in front of him, and yet more traitorous tears slowly flowed. Through my blurred vision, I saw Valek's icy features soften and his callused thumb gently brushed my tears away, following it with his lips.

I couldn't do this again. It would only hurt more when he left, and I already felt as if I'd been pushed off the tallest tree in the jungle. The fall would be relatively short but if the tree somehow managed to grow higher...Biting my lip, I pushed him away and ran towards the safety of my room. I didn't look back. Not even a glance.

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Irys POV:

"Where is Yelena?" I asked Cahil. "I saw you go after her and that Weapons Master."

He seemed to be gritting his teeth unpleasantly. "She was feeling faint so he decided to take her somewhere to rest. I gathered from his tone that I wasn't welcome to follow."

I frowned in concern. "Oh dear. Well, I'm sure Yelena is sensible enough to keep out of any trouble."

Cahil's voice escalated in volume until he almost drowned out all the other noise. It would almost be impressive if it wasn't so painful. "_She's with the damn Weapons Master, Fourth Magician. How the hell would she fight off any unwelcome advances?_"

I backed up slightly. He seemed to be inebriated to an unadviseable extent. The man really knew how to drink,, didn't he? Cahil laughed unsteadily and racously in a way that I didn't like. Of course, I would be able to defend myself quite well with my magic but I didn't want to make a scene in one of the most important events of the year.

Cahil laughed again and he stumbled forward, pushing me into a wall. Furious, I gathered the familiar warmth of magic deep inside me, getting ready to release it at the right moment. The man had truly gone too far. And then, just as suddenly, he fell to the side, slumping into a chair.

I looked up in confusion. There was no way that he would have toppled over like that if someone hadn't pushed him. Sure enough, I spotted one of the gardeners by the side that seemed entirely too innocent to be...well, innocent.

I went over to him and touched his arm, making him turn towards me with a carefully guarded expression on his blank face. "Thank you."

His eyes widened as if to accentuate the fact that he was, indeed, innocent. "For what? I've been standing in this corner all night."

I gave him a sceptical look and tilted my head. "Are you a new gardener? I don't think that I've seen you around."

He smiled and tipped his head. "My name's Dorin, Fourth Magician." His voice was a gentleman's; it was perfectly polite with a blend of manners, and warmth.

"I think that you might as well call me Irys." He was so easy to like, and he didn't seem that much older than myself. If I had to guess, I would have said that he was probably only five years at most older than me.

He grinned. "That would shock too many people around here. A lowly gardener calling one of the Masters by their given names? Unheard of." Truly, his grin made him seem rather handsome, in a rakish sort of way. He wasn't classically good looking, but he was certainly appealing. I was suddenly aware of the fact that my dress had become wrinkled during the encounter with Cahil.

"I don't think the people here are that unaccepting," I said quizically. "Are we at the Keep so shallow?"

"Not you, Irys," he said with such easy familiarity that my heart wrenched. When was the last time some one indicated that they truly cared?

Bain was always busy with his research and Zitora too young to relate with. And Roze...well, was _Roze_. The rest of the world seemed to believe that being one of the Master Magicians gave me a godlike status, always putting me far above reach. Yelena seemed to have the makings of a true friend, but what did I know of people, anyways? My family had drifted farther and farther away after I passed the Masters test, and even though I missed them, they seemed to come to me only when they needed something, most of the time, money. Even the little sister that I loved, Lily, had stopped sending letters to me after five years if correspondence. It had been so long since I went home, I hardly knew what to expect.

I knew I was no longer a young girl, imbued with unrealistic dreams of a prince to sweep me off my feet. But wouldn't it be nice, just once, to be with someone as open and accepting as Dorin? To be loved for who I truly was, not for my abilities?

Dorin seemed to know that something was wrong. "Hey, are you alright? You're rather pale, would you rather go outside?"

I glanced around the room, packed with students and teachers and noise. Oh, the noise. Nobody would missed me when I went until they needed me to do something, a fact that made me feel a pang in my chest. "Let's go," I said firmly. For once, I didn't want to follow these rules, the strict protocol that was in place here.

As soon as we were outside, I breathed in a lungful of clear, silent air. Dorin stood close to me, but not touching, looking at me with such concern that my heart almost broke. Why couldn't people be more like this?

"Something's wrong," he stated, looking at me piercingly. The words hung in the air the way mist lingers after a long rain shower.

How could I tell him? There were so many words inside me and yet they would not ever come out. I couldn't let them. So I forced a smile onto my face, internally wincing at how fake that it must have been. "Is it that obvious?" I asked, and even I could hear the bitterness in my voice.

He didn't say anything for a long time, and stood there studying me in silence. A gust of warm wind blew across the field, making the leaves of the trees dance. Then, slowly, he extended a hand to me.

My gaze fell onto it. I wanted to say yes so much. In all my years of being a Master, I had always done my duty and done it well. I had been living my life for Sitia for over a decade. Couldn't I just do something for me now?

Impetuously, I slipped my hand in his, marvelling at how warm and reassuring his palm was. His grip was firm and for some reason, I felt very safe.

"I want to bring you to see something," he said as he pulled me along to the gardens.

"What is it?" I asked curiously. Surely there wasn't anything in the Keep that I hadn't already seen in all my years of living here.

"You'll see," was his cryptic response as he led me deeper and deeper into the maze. We emerged into a clearing and I stared at the sight in front of me.

"Irises," he said softly. "When I planted them this week, I...I..."

I didn't say anything. I didn't have to. There are just some things that are _known _without any words. Instead, I squeezed his hand gently and leaned in against him. I couldn't stop a smile of pure joy from curving my lips at the flowers I had been named for.

Was that the real reason I was smiling? Or could it also have been the fact that a certain gardener...?

* * *

That was happily plot-free:) and I had fun

Please review :)


	16. A Bow Fight

:D

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Yelena POV:

I felt slightly sick. The rest of the girls around me sported uniformed shorts and sleeveless tops and they all gripped a bow. It was Arms class, with Valek at the front of the class. He swung the bow in a slow, but steady stroke, all the while explaining to the girls the correct handling of the weapon and the correct positions to hold it in. Apparently, footwork would come naturally.

I guess you could say that I wasn't feeling particularly happy today. Valek wore shorts and had taken off his shirt due to the heat as he demonstrated how to perform a basic front hit with a bow. His muscles rippled as he moved and the rest of the girls in my class were entranced with him. Of course, with his easy grace and carefree grin, it was easy to see why. It was as if he had forgotten about me altogether. I gritted my teeth.

"Oooh, such a physique!" whispered the blond girl to her neighbour. "I wouldn't mind having a 'talk' with him after class, would you?"

Her friend giggled and flushed pink. "Definitely not. What are you planning to do, Amber?"

Amber smiled slowly and I felt my heart clench. It was the smile of someone that would do whatever it took to reach their goal. "Well, for starters, I was thinking that I would let him take care of me after my 'accident' occured."

Giggly Girl frowned. "What accident?"

"The accident during our bow practise of course!" hissed Amber, rolling her eyes in exasperation.

"But...but, we never got to practise yet..."

Here Amber let out a disgusted sigh and turned away. Valek stopped in the middle of his lesson and frowned at her. "Is there something wrong, ...er, Amber?"

She smiled coyly while flipping her shining curls. "Nothing at all, Leo."

His face stilled. "I would prefer that you call me sir instead."

I covered my mouth with a hand to keep from laughing outright. I had no wish to get on Amber's blacklist. Meanwhile, Amber's face dropped for a second before she perked up again and nodded at Valek, while sporting a pout.

Valek caught my eye for a second and in that time, I could see how amused he was by her. The connection sizzled through my body and my heart pounded faster. But then I quickly turned away before he could think I meant anything by that.

"Now that we all know what a front jab looks like, split into groups of two and practice on one another," he ordered.

Amber raised her hand and Valek called on her. "But sir," she protested," shouldn't we learn how to defend ourselves first as well?" She beamed as if she had said something extraordinarily smart. Right.

The other students in the class were nodding, however, the most enthusiastic nodder being Giggle Girl. Valek smiled at her as if he was proud at her for pointing that out and I felt like strangling her again. Why didn't she just go after someone that wasn't already...I sighed when I remember he wasn't taken. The jab of jealously increased.

"That's because I want you to be able to develop defensive reactions and instincts on your own, so that when I demonstrated the defensive maneuvers, you'll be able to catch on more quickly. Any more questions?" He looked around. "Good! Now get into your pairs!"

Somehow I had gotten paired off with Amber. She smiled at me condescendingly and said, "Well, I hope you don't get my outfit dirty, since it's obviously much nicer than anything you own."

I smiled sweetly back at her. "I was under the impression that you actually _wanted_ an accident to happen, though...Could you blame me for wanting to help you with that?"

Before she could reply, I swung my bow at her. I had already practised with Leif on many occasions when I was growing up and while I wasn't an assassin like Valek was, I would like to think that I could hold my own.

Amber was caught off guard and stumbled while trying to evade it. She recovered and bared her teeth at me before launching herself forward with a vengeful screech. I smiled in amusement before I easily deflected her blow and knocked away her bow.

"You...you..." Her face turned tomato red, which did _not_ do wonders for her complexion like one might think. "That was unfair!"

"On the contrary, that is the exact type of situation you will probably find yourself in in the real world," said a smooth and carefully neutral voice from behind me. I whirled to face Valek. His eyes held a hint of pride, but I didn't fool myself thinking that it was for me.

Seeing Valek there, Amber seized at the oppurtunity. "Oooh...my arm!" She gasped and fell to her side, grasping her upper arm in supposed agony.

I shook my head. This girl was turning out to be more and more shallow and vapid. Not that I was suffering from a bout of harsh jealousy, of course.

To my surprise, Valek crouched down next to her and gently took her arm in his hands. He turned it over to look for any outward source of pain and asked her where it hurt.

Amber sniffed dramatically. "Everywhere," she simpered. She leaned closer so that her cleavage was on show and Valek could have probably looked down into her chest through her low-cut top. It seemed as if she made some alterations to her uniform to make it seem...more appealing to the opposite sex.

Another storm of jealousy passed through me. Valek was helping her up with a sympathetic gaze that was warm. But when he handed her over to a mousy male medic, I blinked. Obviously I was just making a mountain out of a molehill and nothing was between them. At least, I hoped so.

"Yelena, was Amber your partner?" Valek asked, turning to me.

"Yes..._sir."_ I said, shifting on my feet.

His eyes narrowed at me and I shrank back. "Since she's gone, I'll spar with you for the remainder of the time left," he announced, tapping my bow with his.

I gulped. When we had first met, I had fought him and he had turned out to be tiger-fast. He reminded me of the tales told around campfires of snow cats on the ice pack up north that were so stealthy and lightning-quick that they usually killed their victims before the unfortunate soul knew what was coming. Sadly, I was not very skilled with bow. I knew the basics, but the switchblade had always been my main weapon. There was no place in the jungle for something as long and cumbersome as a bow. Luckily, I could employ some of the same strategies I used for my blade so that I wasn't completely helpless.

"Yelena?" Valek called, rousing me. "Are you ready?"

When I nodded, he sprung into action. His bow streaked towards me so quickly that it was a blur. Somehow, I managed to block it with mine and winced at this strength. Obviously I would not be able to win this by overpowering him. What had happened to going easy on students?

I hadn't realised that I had spoken aloud until he let out a harsh laugh.

"I never go easy on students," he said as he managed to jab me in the ribs, knocking the air out of me. "There's no use coddling them because you're doing them a disservice. It will be like this out in the real world and it's foolish to pretend otherwise."

I couldn't answer because I was so busy trying to keep him from jabbing me again. I huffed for breath and my lungs felt as if they had been punctured.

"You're not half bad," Valek commented conversationally as he jabbed me again in the thigh.

At this comment, the rest of the class stopped their sparring and gathered into a loose circle to watch us. I sighed internally. More people to witness my humiliation.

While we were still fighting intensely, Giggly Girl was openly ogling Valek and I felt a flash of extreme irritation. I used this to put more speed into my fighting, but I couldn't deny how tired I was. Valek grinned at me as if he knew, which he probably did, and only struck harder and faster progressively without showing any signs of fatigue. The man couldn't have been human.

My hands shook and seeing this weakness, Valek took advantage by knocking my bow out of my hands. It fell, clattering on the floor and the students around us clapped.

His eyes met mine and a smile travelled between us. I shook my head and it faded quickly. He slowly lowered his weapon and I couldn't help but notice his muscles again. I wanted to hit myself for noticing, wasn't it obvious that he would be muscular given that he was an assassin?

Footsteps sounded from behind me and I turned around to see Amber approaching us at breakneck speed. She saw that her prey was getting away from her, I thought bitterly.

Valek gave me one last look before turning to her. His warm smile was so skillfully given that I felt my throat tighten. "I'm glad you could join us again," he said smoothly.

Amber dimpled at him. "_Nothing_ could keep me from your class," she gushed. I could tell she wasn't joking.

"Do you need some help, Leo?" called out a voice from the far side of the yard.

It was Cahil. He moved quickly towards us and looked at Valek, Amber and myself, seeming to know some of what had happened. "Would you like for me to pair off with one of the students? I don't have to be on duty until after supper."

"If you'd like, Yelena doesn't have a partner at the moment," Valek said carelessly. He waved his hand in my general direction and barked out orders for the rest of the class to continue sparring. Meanwhile, Cahil came towards me with an eager glint in his eye.

"I'm so sorry for leaving you with him," he whispered urgently as soon as people moved away. He gripped my arm. "Irys said that you would be fine with him but...I can see that you're hurt. It was him, wasn't it?" he said, his tone turning angry and black.

"Well...I..." I turned to glance at Valek and Amber. They had their heads close together and were supposedly discussing tactics, but that was probably the last thing they were doing. How could I ever trust a man that left me alone while I had no idea who I was? While I was as devoid of memories as a newborn, and as vulnerable as one too? The answer was no, I couldn't, and never would.

"Yes," I told Cahil firmly. I beamed up at him as convincingly as I could. "Care to show me how to use this stick?"

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:) Does anyone hate Amber as much as I do?

Also, does anyone know if Poison study will ever be made into a movie?


	17. A Discovery

Chapter 17

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Yelena POV:

"I was hoping that you'd want me to help!" Cahil said. "Here, hold the bow like this...and then your feet here...no, here...there, like that!" He stood back to admire his handiwork with a look of pleased superiority on his face.

I had to stop myself from rolling my eyes. My limbs felt stiff and awkward in this position and I was pretty sure that it wasn't right. I glanced at Valek and Amber again. They were still talking, even though there couldn't have possibly been that much to say and Amber's brain definitely didn't have room for that much information. Of course, I didn't care either way.

My brother had once told me that to win, I had to fight fire with fire. And that was just what I was planning to do.

"This doesn't feel right!" I complained to Cahil, considering batting my eyelashes to make my flirtation seem more realistic. I hadn't ever flirted in my life, since I disliked the artificiality of it. Since I had no experience whatsoever, I probably looked like an idiot (I definitely felt like one), but Cahil didn't seem to mind. "Can you fix my posture?" I asked, tilting my head in what I hoped was an alluring gesture.

Cahil eagerly put his arms around my from behind and gently moved my arms, his hands lingering longer than necessary. He used his own legs to reposition mine and we stayed like that for a moment, my skin shivering in repulsion. No matter what, he was still essentially a stranger. I fought the urge to leap away from him and run from the room. I didn't want anybody touching me like that except maybe for Valek, even if he was obviously not interested anymore.

Or...was he? He had stopped talking with Amber and now was glowering in my general direction. I looked around to see if there were any other possible people that deserved his ire, but there weren't. Amber was tugging on his arm and desperately trying to gain his attention once more. His eyes challenged me as he smoothly turned back to Amber. He was now doing the same thing to her that Cahil had done to me, and it knocked the wind out of me.

I had never imagined that he would actually...that he would be capable of such revenge. It made sense in a sort of way, considering his profession, but I would have never thought that attracting women would have been part of his motley collection of talents. I turned to Cahil once more and found him watching me with his eyes narrowed. Uh oh.

He drew me into a corner of the room and I thought I saw Valek's jaw clench in anger. I had never felt so terrible in my life. If Cahil actually had feelings for me and I had used him for it, I would be no better than girls like Amber, or one of the gardening girls I saw once...Marie?

But when I looked up at him, I could only see understanding and rueful determination.

"It seems we have a common goal," he said into my ear, even though there was nobody around to hear us.

"What? Angering Va...Leo?"

He closed his eyes. "How to explain this..." He trailed off and let his breath out in a gust. "You see, Yelena, I'm doing the same thing you're doing. And now that we're _both_ trying to make other people feel jealous, our efforts will not be wasted."

My jaw dropped. _He had been using me?_ Well, I supposed that I couldn't judge him without being a hypocrite. My only question now was who he was trying to make jealous.

"Well, Marie, of course...do you know her? The girl with the angelic blond curls that works with the flowers?" he said when I asked.

I blinked. What I had seen of this Marie was not very flattering. She flirted incessantly with every man in sight and made a spectacle of herself in public to get attention. I thought that she and Amber would have been the best of friends if they weren't fighting over men like I suspected they would be. "Er..."

"She's gone off with another soldier even though I thought we had an agreement!" Cahil muttered, his eyes flashing with some strong emotion. Although I suspected that he was no better than his Marie, I could also sense that he had a deep attachment to her and that she had genuinely hurt him. For once in his life, she was not a game to him. Even though I couldn't see how that worked.

"What about you?" he said, turning back to me. "What's between you and the Arms teacher?"

I made up a lie on the spot, even though I was terrible at it. I was pretty sure my cheeks were the colour of red chokcaberries. "Um...nothing." I winced at my cheerful tone. "We...I just think he looks very...appealing, that's all." Great, now I sounded like Amber.

He nodded understandingly and was about to say more when a large hand clapped down hard on his shoulder. We both spun to face Valek, who seemed to be barely restrained. "Class is over," he said icily. "Perhaps your little...conversation can continue outside."

I looked around to see where Amber was. The room was clearing with students gathering up the equipment and leaving, but Amber and Giggly Girl lingered in a corner, talking. Amber seemed to be both upset and angry, her eyes were bright slits on her flushed face. What had happened?

"Unlike others, I have the consideration not to use people for my own purposes," he said with a sarcastic jab in his voice. I found that hard to believe, considering all the things he had already done.

Cahil squared his shoulders and placed a hand on my back, steering me out the door. "There are many things we still need to discuss, sweetheart," he said intimately as we departed.

Before we could get beyond a few steps past the door, however, Irys intercepted us.

"Yelena! I was hoping that you'd still be here!" she said breathlessly. She noticed Cahil beside me and shot him a disgusted stare, turning her back on him. I sighed. Cahil had probably tried to use Irys as well. Would he ever learn that that wouldn't necessarily get him Marie?

"What's wrong?" I asked in concern. I had never seen Irys so flustered before, her calm exterior entirely gone.

She took in a deep breath. "Someone's just in brought in," she said in a hushed tone. "She is the victim of a kidnapping and rape and has been injured severely. I've already told you of your great potential for healing and it would be best if you could come see her for yourself. Her injuries..." Irys trailed off, a look of horror entering her forest green eyes. " are...extensive."

"I'm coming," I said, grabbing her arm and running towards where I thought the healer's rooms were. I was barely aware of Cahil's shouting and Valek following us rapidly.

Irys hadn't been exxagerating. The girl had been maimed all over her body, from what I could see that wasn't being covered by a crisp white sheet. Her skin was blue, purple, brown...all the colours of a bruise in each stage of injury and healing. Some parts of her skin were peeling off, revealing raw looking flesh that made me wince.

"Why?" I finally asked in horror, breaking the tense silence.

"What do you mean, why?" snapped Roze, who had been in the room when we had arrived. "Isn't it obvious that this girl was the latest victim in the hands of a seriously disturbed individual?"

I turned to Irys. "You said this was a kidnapping and rape," I stated. "That doesn't account for these unnecessary and...sadistic injuries."

Bain closed his eyes. "We believe that this girl has been used as the erm, sacrificial lamb of an ancient power ritual that originated from the Sandseeds. By breaking someone's spirit by inflicting pain and drawing from their blood to inject it into your own body, a magician gains a hefty amount of power. This girl is the latest of almost ten victims, and the fact that she is still alive is very peculiar. You see, in order for the magician to gain the ultimate amount of power, a victim must be killed and their heart's blood must be injected. So far, all the other victims have died because of this, although this one is an exception. We believe that the magician heard someone coming and fled, leaving behind this young girl before he...or she could finish this rite."

"Yelena, that is exactly why we need you," Irys said pleadingly.

I started. "What should I do?"

"Heal her. Bring her back from the brink of death."

"What?" Bain, Roze, Valek and I said in astonishment.

"I..I can't." I said desperately. "I don't know how to do it, I've only just started learning about my magic. What if I lose control and end up killing her?"

Irys closed her eyes. "That is a risk that must be taken. This girl holds the key to stopping these murders. She has valuable first hand experience and will be a great help in finding the killer so that he or she can be dealt with."

Roze laughed coldly. "And so you ask one of the novices to do it? Why would this beginner possess any competancy...or enough to basically bring someone back from the dead?"

Irys looked around her, taking in everyone's piercing gazes. Her head drooped in defeat, as if she had been planning to keep in a secret but was forced to bring it out to the light. "Yelena is not an ordinary student." she said reluctantly.

I frowned. "Because of my age?"

"No...well, age ties into it but it isn't exactly why. Have you ever wondered why you developed your magical abilities so late after puberty, when most people usually notice hints of magic in themselves? Have you ever wondered if there might actually be another factor besides random luck that provoked this to happen?"

"What could there be? Is it something that happened to me to delay the discovery of my magic?"

Irys looked me right in the eye. "No, it's because of who you are."

Roze tapped her foot impatiently. "I have no time for philisophical ramblings," she announced. "And who would Yelena be then?"

"A Soulfinder."

Among everyone's gasps around me, I felt a hint of panic. Who...or _what_ was a Soulfinder, and why was I singled out to be one? Gazes of horror emanated from everyone, except for one lone, standing figure in the horror of the room.

Valek stared at me with a mixture of surprise, grief, and horror. I noticed that his assassin's mask had slipped over his features once more.

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He finally knows! :) Now the fun stuff can start.


	18. Away

Sorry for not updating sooner! I have a stack of research essays to write, and they all happen to be on subjects that bore me to tears.

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Valek POV:

Yelena. Is. The. Soulfinder. Those words pounded against the walls of my mind, and for a moment, I couldn't hear anything beyond the blood rushing through my ears. My mission was to kill the Soulfinder. I would have to kill...Yelena.

I felt the same bone-chilling coldness that I had felt when my brothers had been killed. My bones had frozen and any sudden movement would cause them to splinter. Breathing seemed impossible and all I could think of was the fact that I would have to carry out the Commander's orders no matter what. Irys was still explaining to Yelena what a Soulfinder was, and I could see her face furrowed in confusion and dismay. Meanwhile, the other magicians in the room were rapidly discussing the consequences of having a Soulfinder.

"She'd be too much of a risk. It's better to kill her before she does any damage to the power source," snapped Roze.

My muscles tensed as if preparing to defend her and I wanted to laugh at the irony. How could I protect her if her biggest threat was me? I could no longer pretend that if I killed her, she wouldn't just be a number to me. She wouldn't become the latest victim in a long chain of deaths that extended back to my teenage years. She was Yelena, and if I killed her, the pain would last for my whole life.

"No, Roze. Let's not generalize based on past events," chided Bain urgently. "For all you know, Yelena could use her powers for good. I'm inclined to think so."

"Ha! You won't be saying that when a soulless army rises up out of the dead and attacks the Keep!"

Nothing made sense anymore. I was beginning to question the foundations of my being. In all the years that I had been an assassin, I genuinely believed that killing certain people would be doing the world a favor. Some people were too dangerous to be kept alive and could eventually cause trouble. The problem was...Yelena fit into that category. I could not deny that. But aside from that, I knew with a deep certainty that she was a good person. She was possibly the most selfless person I'd ever met and to say that she would raise up a soulless army for her own benefit would be insane.

I took in a deep breath and held it. For the first time in my life, I didn't know what to do. But I also needed to act quickly, before the magicians could think of harming her or using her in any way. Eventually, a tentative plan dawned onto me.

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Yelena POV:

I curled up on my bed. Irys had tried to protect me once the secret had come out, but the rest of the Masters had outvoted her, even Bain. I was to be kept in my room until the Sitian Council could decide what to do with me. And everyone knew that that would take months at least.

Irys had then gotten into a lot of trouble for keeping it a secret. She was currently being kept under observation until the other magicians decided they would be able to trust her once more. But before she had left my room, she had finished explaining to me who...or _what_ I was and the responsibilities that would fall on my shoulders.

I didn't want any of it. At all. All I had ever wanted out of life was a comfortable, peaceful place to live with people that I loved. Was that too much to ask? Even worse, the look on Valek's face had nearly caused me to run from the room. He had looked at me so coldly that it was as if he had denied ever knowing me.

I began to realise what Irys felt all the time now. Being powerful, or in a position of power put you on a pedestal. Others merely looked up at you and pushed you away. You were something other, something inhuman. Being a Soulfinder had to be at least as bad as being a Master Magician.

The windows rattled but I ignored them. It was a stormy night and the room was streaked with dark shadows. I hadn't bothered to light a lamp or a fire because I had felt too emotionally drained. The windows rattled again, and I frowned. It couldn't just be the wind, could it?

Immediately, the noise stopped and everything grew silent. Suddenly, I felt a shiver creep up my spine when I saw a shadow creep over me and realised that someone was behind me. Were they here to kill me because I was the Soulfinder? I was caught in indecision. Run or fight?

Warm hands wrapped around my wrist, gently threading a piece of sturdy string around them. I breathed in the scent of musk and turned around to see striking blue eyes staring at me.

"Va-umph!" A gag was inserted into my mouth and I was hauled off my feet and unceremoniously thrown over Valek's shoulder. He tied my feet together around as well and toted me out the window into the night. Before we had left, however, Valek threw a folded sheet of parchment onto my table. My curiousity peaked and I wondered why Valek of all people would leave behind some kind of clue for the Masters to use to find me.

It was raining outside, I realised belatedly. Valek led me to a horse tied to a fence near the wall of the building and soon I could feel jolts running through my body as the horse sped towards the gate. I shrank into Valek, expecting guards to ambush us at any second, but as we passed, all I saw were guards slumped over in the guardhouse. Valek had taken care of that problem with his infamous efficiency.

As soon as we passed through the gate, the dream-like quality of what had happened dissapeared. I was being kidnapped and taken away from the Keep by Valek, for a reason I did not know of.

We rode for hours, until the rain stopped and the sun's rays spread over the horizon and it was dawn. Valek brought me to the base of a tree and began to groom the horse, ignoring me entirely.

My mouth sore from the gag, I tried to take it off, but my hands were still tightly bound. "Mphhgm!" I said.

Valek turned to me and I flinched at the deadly expression in his eyes. "Stay silent, or we'll be caught," he ordered.

What was he doing? Why did he kidnap me? I bristled at his authoritative tone but could do nothing at the moment. I tried to untie the knot at my hands by myself, but they were tied expertly, with no loose ends that I could easily grasp. Sadly, physically manipulating objects was not one of my magical abilities. This kidnapping attempt was serious.

After the horse was taken care of, Valek took out some jerky and a canteen of water. My stomach grumbled and my mouth felt very dry, mostly because of the cloth gag. He glanced at me for a moment and I thought I saw his eyes soften. For a moment, his mask was gone and I was shocked by the raw pain I saw in him. He came over and took out the gag, putting his hand over my mouth before I could say anything.

"If you speak, no food," he warned. I nodded and as I ate and drank what he gave me, I pondered how I was going to get out of this situation. Escape seemed very unlikely and there was no way I could actually win in a fight against him without any weapons whatsoever.

When I was done, Valek searched for the gag again. Before he could silence me, I blurted," Why did you kidnap me? I would have gone with you if you'd just asked! I wouldn't have wanted to stay at the Keep to be their guinea pig Soulfinder!"

Valek quickly pinned me down on the ground and threatened to shove the gag in my mouth again. He held it up threateningly and I shrank back. "You wouldn't have come if you knew what I was planning to do to you," he said into my ear.

I stared up into wells of sapphire. "What...are you planning to do with me?"

"Kill you."

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Thoughts or suggestions? Please review.


	19. Revelations

Sorry for not updating for such a long time! :( But I'm back now with another chapter...the end of the story will either come soon or after another 10 chapters or so. I still have to decide which path to take.

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Yelena POV:

We were at a castle. Or at least, that's what I thought it was. It loomed over us ominously and its irregular composition reminded me of my brother's first efforts to make liana furniture like my father; it looked like a giant had just thrown it together, hoping it wouldn't fall. It was made of cold, old stone and as Valek dragged me towards it, I belatedly realised that this was the complex that the Commander lived in. No doubt I would be forced to meet him.

Pulled by Valek through the spacious and light-filled hallways, I witnessed many surprised and curious stares from servants on their errands. I suddenly felt the wish to be one of them, to belong and not have to deal with my mess of a life. I felt hollow inside, my fear evaporated. I didn't want to die but I was slowly being convinced that the world would be a better place if I did. After all, look what happened to the last Soulfinder...I sharply shook my head and told myself to stop thinking like that.

Entering a round room encircled with strips of colourful and beautiful stained glass for walls, I gaped. A man, with dark hair beginning to gray and a stiff posture was earnestly scanning a letter. He looked up and an expression of recognition flashed across his face when he looked at Valek before it turned to puzzlement when he glanced at me.

"Valek? You took longer on this mission than I thought you would," the man mused, leaning back on his chair and folding his hands together on his desk.

Valek paused. "There were...complications, sir." A cold chill slid down my spine as I realised he was speaking to the only man in Ixia who ranked higher than him...the Commander.

"And who is this?" the Commander queried, switching his gaze to me. I could hardly breathe as Valek's hand clamped down hard on my arm.

Valek's supercilious tone was gone now and his voice had gone hard and cold. "The Soulfinder."

"Why isn't she dead yet, as per my orders?" questioned the Commander, his voice neutral and soft. It was as if I was just a miniscule problem that could be dealt with at a moment's notice. His face was expressionless and I wondered if the man ever showed emotion at all.

Valek's jaw tightened. His hand tightened on my arm again and I almost cried out in pain. "She isn't dead yet because I haven't killed her yet," he said in a deadpan voice, stating the obvious. His movements and voice had turned harsh and unconnected from thought. I understood that he would follow the Commander's orders no matter what. Once Valek was loyal to someone, he would never betray them, I thought bitterly.

"Kill her now," the Commander ordered, watching Valek's face carefully.

Valek's hand went to his weapons belt, and he extracted a lethal blade that was sharp and curved into a deadly crescent. His face devoid of all emotion, he lifted it and turned to me, holding it poised at his fingertips. He let go of my arm and I realised that he was going to throw it like a dart.

I closed my eyes.

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Valek POV:

The knife hit its target just like I knew it would. Then, I walked over and jerked it out mercilessly. I was in turmoil and my emotions were closer to the surface than ever before. I had just betrayed the person that I...

I knew was wrong.

Yelena was standing still, her back proudly straight and her eyes closed. She hadn't cried out or pleaded for her life. Although she wasn't as strong as many soldiers, her inner strength surpassed theirs more than she would ever know.

Finally, she opened her eyes. She truly looked at me for the first time since I kidnapped her and swung around to see the large crack the the knife had left in the reinforced stained glass behind her.

"What have you done, Valek?" the Commander's voice was grim and there was something in his eyes that made me almost flinch. This was the man that had treated me like a son, that had taught me to rebel against the injustices dealt by the monarchy. This was the man that had spared me my life even though I had wanted to take his. This was the man that gave me a new life.

But he was wrong. He had always ordered me to kill those that opposed him and there was nothing wrong with that, as most people that opposed him were dangerous. However, over the course of many years, there had been at least a few that posed no danger to the well-being of Ixia. Such that writer that spoke of a government run by the people, where leaders were elected into power every few years and citizens had a say in the how the nation was run. I had always secretly suspected that the Commander only ordered him executed because he wanted to maintain his power.

I thought back to what had happened 5 years ago...

_I was going to Ambrose's office to give my report after my afternoon training session. I was so used to just walking in, that I didn't knock the door before putting my hand on the doorknob. I paused as I heard voices inside the room. Ambrose usually never let anyone inside his office at this time of the afternoon other than myself so that I could give my report. He insisted on silence so that he could deal with the problems that arose in Ixia._

_"You can't!" I heard an unfamiliar voice say. It was gravelly and low, like that of an elderly man. "You can hide the truth, but you can never truly destroy it."_

_"The truth is dangerous," I heard Ambrose say. "They wouldn't know how to use it."_

_"Those are the words of a corrupt man," I heard the voice hiss. I was shocked, because nobody had ever spoken to the Commander in such a way before. He had never been accused of corruption. The reason why he had been so successful was because everyone knew he would not buckle under the temptation of more power and wealth like the King. "The truth is dangerous to no one but yourself and your hold on power."_

_"I'm doing this for all Ixians. This has _nothing_ to do with myself."_

_"Ixians know what they want. I've talked to many about my beliefs and they all support this. It's only a matter of time, Commander..."_

_I heard nothing intelligible after that. But a few days later, the Commander ordered a public hanging in the town square. I knew with a deep certainty that it was that man, it was that man that had tried to reason with Ambrose. It was that man that might have brought about a revolution, but now was dead, with all those Ixian's future hopes, crushed._

_The hanging wasn't just a hanging, you see. It was a political statement. Ixia had never been the same after that. The people were more afraid, and heeded the rules more. The rules themselves were inforced much more strictly and slowly, the Commander began to relish the power he wielded._

I looked at him grimly. "I'm doing the right thing, Ambrose. She's an innocent." I knew deep inside that she _was. _

"She's the _Soulfinder_. Capable of raising a soulless army out of nowhere and attacking us. The future of Ixia is at stake and you refuse to take action?" He looked at me incredulously.

I was internally warring with myself. But my instincts won over and they were always accurate. "Yes," I stated with a level of certainty I had never felt before. "She's not going to die today."

Then with Yelena by my side, we walked out of the castle. Nobody stopped us.

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Please review :)


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